What I Never Knew Could Be
by Tsunade's Apprentice
Summary: After the ToP universes six and seven continue to find their lives intertwined. Between brotherly competition and a collective realisation by Kaios and Hakaishins alike that more involvement is needed, friendships are forged between the two teams and lives are changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** as a fanfiction writer I do not own, nor ever will, any part of the Dragon Ball franchise. The only thing I can lay claim to is my own imagination and occasional typos.

**What I Never Knew Could Be **

_Chapter 1_

**Goku**

The journey back to earth passed in a flash of light and Goku blinked, finding himself at Capsule Corp once more.

He chuckled, slightly uncomfortable, as Bulma threw herself at Vegeta and, looking around, he was slightly surprised to see Mr Satan and Dende rising from their seats at the small, round table.

The large man shot a glance over the group before meeting Goku's eyes, the worry - perhaps even terror - of the last hour clear on his face.

"You- you won?" He stammered out, not looking away for even an instant, face fearfully hopeful. "We made it?"

Goku grinned, rubbing tiredly at the back of his head and nodding.

"We- I mean- Of course we did!" The world Champion fell back into his usual boastful style as the fear faded from his eyes. "I never doubted that we'd win! I'm the World Champ and I know a winning team when I see one!"

Goku chuckled uncomfortably once more, before breaking into a yawn.

"Oh, of course!" Dende exclaimed, eagerly stumbling forward. "Please, let me heal you all." He looked around the group to see who needed his help the most.

Krillin and Master Roshi soon started quibbling as the old master refused, insisting that the senzu bean he'd already consumed had been enough. Finally they managed to agree on who would be first and Dende got to work.

When it was his turn, Goku smiled as the aches, pains and fatigue lifted off him and he quickly fell into a series of stretches, releasing the tension and stress of the last hour.

Dende made quick work of healing the others and they were soon ready to go their separate ways. Whis and Beerus were the first to leave, with a promise to return in a couple of days, once everyone had rested.

Rather than flying to 17's island, Goku decided to use instant transmission, taking the cyborg with him and returning with the three exuberant children.

Unsurprisingly the boys were curious about the 'party'. Goku had to admit, he didn't envy Bulma and Vegeta the task of dealing with Trunks on this. Goten was lively, flighty and easily distracted and the suggestion of heading home for dinner was enough to distract him. Trunks was a different matter altogether. Already he was shooting suspicious looks around the place, noting the absence of anything that would suggest a party, eyeing up the torn and dirtied clothing of the remaining fighters. He was almost as lively as Goten but, aside from their love of fighting, that was where the similarities ended. Trunks had a sharp mind and a knack for getting what he wanted, partnered with a stubborn streak to match either of his parents.

Deciding it was better to leave before Trunks could voice his suspicions, Goku took his youngest son by the shoulder and, with a wave and a "See ya later!", used instant transmission to take them home.

* * *

"Bulma called while you were gone."

Goku looked up from his almost empty bowl.

"She did?" He didn't know where this was going but the fact that Chichi had waited until Goten had left the table, along with her flat tone of voice, was a clear indicator that he was in trouble.

"Yes, Goku san!" Chichi answered shortly.

They fell into an uncomfortable, tense silence as she waited for him to come clean about what he'd done and he waited for her to lose patience and tell him what his latest misdemeanour actually was.

"She seemed surprised that you'd tried to keep it secret from the others that the fate of the universe was hanging on this tournament." She finally supplied, leaving unsaid the fact that she, too, hadn't been told that particular fact.

"Well, uh-"

"Did you not think that I had a right to know?" She cut across him, clearly angry.

"Chichi-"

"No Goku san! You disappear time and again, you hardly ever earn anything for this family to live off, you neglect your son's education," she paused momentarily to draw breath, pointing her finger at him in anger, "and now you hide from me that the universe may get destroyed and you take our _son_ with you to fight?"

"I'm sorry Cheech…" Goku really didn't know what to say. It had been Gohan's idea that the threat to the universe be kept quiet, not his - and he'd trusted his son's judgement. But he didn't know how to explain that now.

"Oh, you'd better be sorry! What if the universe had been erased? What would have happened to Goten? To Pan?"

Not knowing how to answer, he decided to stay quiet.

"I bet you never even thought about them, about their futures!" She continued. It was hardly the truth. Admittedly, the details hadn't been at the forefront of his mind, but he'd understood the importance of winning.

He knew he was partly to blame for the tournament but how was he to know that the fates of the universes were going to hang on the outcome of a competition. They hadn't, as it had turned out, but saying that wouldn't help his situation right now.

"Well, I don't care that we won. I don't care who did what. You lied to me and don't you think for one moment that you're sleeping in this house tonight!" With that she pointed at the door, waiting for him to leave.

Goku stood, grasping for the words to say but coming up short. Her mind was clearly made up and continuing the conversation was only going to dig him in further.

At least he'd gotten dinner. 

* * *

**Kale**

Kale sat on her sofa, an unexpected pizza in her lap, and tried to stop her hand shaking as she drank from the can of beer Caulifla had given her.

She'd not even been home two hours when the doorbell had rang and she'd found her friend at her door: pizza boxes in one hand, a supermarket shopping bag in the other and a great big grin on her face. Kale had never been one for surprises and she felt uncomfortable at the sudden intrusion, but she couldn't deny that the food was welcome, as was the interruption to her stunned state after arriving home.

"Aren't ya hungry?"

Kale glanced up at her friend, tearing herself out of her thoughts to find Caulifla had already started on her second slice.

"I ain't gonna stay long." Caulifla went on, unperturbed. "But I had to go past anyway, and thought you'd be just as hungry as I was, so I thought I'd drop in."

Kale nodded, picked up a slice of her pizza and took a bite. With a groan of pleasure she sat back on her sofa as she chewed. When she looked back to her boss, the older woman was grinning at her.

"Nothin' like pizza and beer after a hard day!" Caulifla exclaimed, mirroring Kale's movement as she settled back into the sofa and took a long drink.

Kale searched for a response but came up blank. Instead she smoothed her pajama top, trying not to look self conscious. She wasn't good at small talk and the day had left her too raw. She often envied Caulifla's confidence; the way she could always find something to say.

Kale could never do that.

"So what do you think of what Vados said? About the training?" Caulifla asked as she started on her third slice of pizza, shooting Kale a sideways glance.

"Do you think she means it?" Kale asked hesitantly. She'd found a measure of confidence during the tournament but now, back home under the glare of a bare light bulb and the not so welcoming surround of old furniture and peeling paint, that confidence felt like a foolish thing.

"She'd better!" Caulifla steadied the box in her lap as she folded a leg up under herself and turned to face Kale more fully. "Now that I've seen how strong saiyans can be… Just think how much stronger we'll be with training! Vados said those guys've been training with her brother for a couple of years now and we held our own. Just imagine what we'll be able to do with the same training!"

Kale could already see the excitement in her friend and a shadow of her earlier confidence and excitement stirred inside her, but it quickly faded under a flood of exhaustion and her constant companion - self doubt.

"I- I don't-" Kale shrunk in on herself as her words failed her once again. It wasn't that she didn't know what she wanted to say, but the words seemed stuck in her throat.

"Stop worrying, Kale!" Caulifla leaned over, swapping two of their slices. "You were amazing! Just you wait. Once we start training you'll see."

Caulifla's smile was bright, her posture eager but comfortable. At ease in her own skin, that's what Caulifla was. It hadn't mattered what the tournament had thrown at her, Caulifla had never doubted herself.

And Kefla…

Kale was still reeling from having been fused. The experience had been unlike anything Kale had ever experienced and for a second Kale felt overwhelmed at the memory, her chest tightening at the flood of conflicting emotions. But in those same memories she found a vestige of the easy - even overwhelming - confidence Kefla had felt. Forcing herself to breathe, Kale calmed herself as much as she could and forced herself to pick up the next slice of her pizza. Sometimes the pretense of normal was the best she could manage.

"Here."

Kale startled slightly at finding another can in front of her face. She hadn't even noticed her friend leaving the room, but she accepted the drink gratefully. "Arigatō," she murmured, cracking the can and taking a long drink. Then another.

Beside her, Caulifla did the same, getting herself comfortable on the sofa before starting on her second beer.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they ate, moving on to the ice cream Caulifla had also brought with her, once they finished the pizza. They made quick work of the beers too.

At some point she must have fallen asleep, though Kale had no memory whatsoever of doing so, but when she woke in the morning she found herself in her bed, Caulifla long gone.

* * *

**GOKU**

Goku liked nights like these. It was fresh but mild, with barely a cloud in the sky to obstruct the view of the stars.

He'd gone for a swim and a bath in the river, and now sat on the bank in front of a crackling fire, simply breathing in the cool night air.

This was his favourite spot in the whole area. It was only minutes from the house and there was a steady supply of fresh fish. The fire was built on a patch blackened by decades' worth of fires and it was rare for more than a couple of days to pass without a fresh one being built here. Even before Goku had landed on earth, Grandpa Gohan had been coming here for years, and now Trunks and Goten often made their way here on hot, sunny afternoons.

But at night it was all his.

Laying down on the soft grass of the bank he let out a contented sigh. He was glad this place was still here: his family, his universe. And the other universes, too.

He'd been eager to fight with the other competitors, eager to win, too. But the threat of erasure and the knowledge that anyone he defeated would be erased along with everything they cared for… It had been horrifying to the point where he hadn't been able to let himself think about it as he'd been fighting.

But it had all been fixed.

They were all still out there, somewhere in space. Or however it worked with universes.

The thought made his blood heat: so many strong fighters, so many with potential and so many more that he had yet to encounter. It made a grin spread across his face.

"Goku san?"

He'd nearly been dozing off when his wife's voice broke through the near silence of the night.

With a jolt Goku sat up, turning in her direction.

"Chichi…?"

There were tear stains on her cheeks and fresh tears welling in her eyes as she entered the circle of firelight.

It took less than the blink of an eye for him to get to his feet and cross the short distance between them. But he didn't know what to do once he was there. She never came looking for him and rarely ever let him see her emotions. Comforting her as he wanted could be completely the wrong thing to do. But what else could he do?

Carefully, with infinite gentleness, he pulled her into an embrace.

It terrified him; just how breakable she felt in his arms.

They'd been married for over 25 years and in that time they'd grown close, and then grown apart again. Goku couldn't even remember the last time he'd held her like this or the last time they'd been this close.

And, after fighting the strongest men, women and whatever else from around all the universes, her fragility seemed even more clear to him. Even the two tiny saiyan women, both considerably smaller than his wife, hadn't had that feeling of vulnerability about them.

"What if we'd been erased?" Chichi finally sobbed into his chest, her tears wetting his chest where his missing gi had left it bare.

"We weren't." It was the best answer he had. He wasn't Gohan with his intellect and a way with words, or Vegeta with his brusque anger, nor even Piccolo; pensive to the point of near silence. He didn't know what it really would have meant to be erased - he didn't think it would matter since no one would be aware of it happening. But somehow that didn't seem like a comforting answer for his wife.

Sometimes he wondered just why he was so very different to everyone else he knew.

"Please, Goku san, please tell me you're done with all of this. That you're done with all the fighting."

Goku was speechless for a long moment. Were they really having this conversation again?

"I'll try…" He eventually forced the words out. Again, it was the best he could manage.

He'd tried, before: to do as she asked, to make her happy. But he loved fighting, lived for it even. And just because he stopped, that didn't mean that the universe was done with him.

Time and time again a new challenge had appeared. A stronger foe. A bigger danger.

Couldn't Chichi see that had Zeno truly wanted to erase the universes, simply not taking part wouldn't have saved them? It would have meant their end, without them having any chance of saving themselves.

Was that really what she wanted him to do?

With a final shuddering breath she pulled away from him.

"You don't have to sleep out here." She said with a small, shaky smile, meeting his eyes. He met that smile with one of his own, trying to ignore how very forced it felt.

* * *

**AN: **and you've made it to the end of chapter 1! If you're still interested in where this is going, I have a few comments to make. I've currently got 2 Google docs maxed out with this fic and a third well on its way there, _but _I'm not sure if I want to include everything I've written or if I want to stick with my end goal. When I started writing this, Caulifla in particular was extremely unpopular and I know that this is only ever going to appeal to a niche group, but I'd like to think she's grown in popularity since then.

This **will** end up as a Goku/Caulifla fic, and an explicit one at that, but relatively slow burn. What parts I do or don't post is pretty much up to you readers, as is whether I post more. So, let me know what you think, now or later, because for all that I wrote this for me, I'm sharing it for _you_.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2! It's a bit short but there's more to come!

* * *

**Bulma**

It had been a lot of years since Bulma had had such a long and nerve wracking day and she found herself fighting back another yawn.

It was well past midnight but her kitchen was still bustling: her mother, completely overjoyed at the prospect of such old friends staying the night, had wasted no time at all in preparing rooms for Master Roshi and Krillin along with his family, after they'd accepted Bulma's offer. Now her mother was happily preparing them a late dinner, Trunks and Marron having already been fed and put to bed. Vegeta, of course, was digging into the leftovers of the children's meal and would undoubtedly be hungry again by the time their dinner was served.

Bulma wasn't a fighter but she hated being out of the loop on what had happened, so she'd extended the offer of dinner and a bed to her friends, knowing that she'd be lucky to get even the vaguest details from her brooding husband.

Their stories certainly didn't disappoint.

She could tell that Krillin was ashamed of having fallen out of the ring so early in the fight, but it had certainly given him the best vantage point from which to observe.

As she'd listened to the fragmented comments, it hadn't been hard to notice a pattern: even with such high stakes and no mutually beneficial ending possible, their team and Universe Six had worked together a significant number of times throughout the tournament.

She'd seen the short, lanky saiyan talking to Vegeta at the baseball match, never mind their fight at the first tournament, and had seen the rivalry between the two teams. But it seemed that, bit by bit, those rivalries were turning into friendships - even under such dire circumstances.

Now she wanted more than just bits and pieces. Time to start digging.

"Were all the Universe Six fighters from last time there? What were their names again…?" She asked the leading question, hoping to get them talking.

"That's right," Master Roshi answered, taking another sip of his tea, "there was that big metal-man: Magetta, and the Winnie the Pooh lookalike… What was his name?" He directed the question at the ceiling, lips pursed in thought, before glancing askance at Krillin.

"Erm…" Krillin looked quickly to his wife, but 18 clearly had no intention of supplying an answer. With a sigh he took on a pensive expression. "You know, I think it was Botamo. Or something like that."

"Hmm. That sounds like it. He was the first of that team to fall out of bounds, " Master Roshi confirmed and Bulma nodded at the old man in encouragement. That matched up with what small bits and pieces they had already told her.

Master Roshi sipped at his tea again before continuing. "Then there was that trickster, Frost. And Hit, of course. That little saiyan was there, too. The one who calls Vegeta Shishō," the old man chuckled quietly to himself at the thought.

Bulma didn't miss the scowl on her husband's face at the mention of Cabba and did her best to suppress her smile. Vegeta had never been good at admitting when he didn't dislike someone – 'like' was a word she knew he'd never use. Probably time to move on from the young soldier before he interrupted the conversation and things got sidetracked.

"But that's just five. Didn't you say something about other saiyans?"

"Ooooooooh, yes!" Roshi cooed appreciatively. "Two hotties!"

Bulma knew she really shouldn't be surprised that there were saiyan women - it was only natural, after all - but she was. She was so used to saiyans being an almost extinct race and had thought of them for such a long time in the male sense, that it seemed strange. Master Roshi's typically pervy remarks barely even registered, curious as she was to know more.

"Really Master Roshi?" Krillin chuckled uncomfortably. "I kinda thought they were pretty scary… especially the taller one!"

18 raised an eyebrow at her husband, "She was powerful, but she wasn't the dangerous one of the two…" a moment's pause. "Well, unless you were Goku."

A quiet huff of laughter came from Vegeta's end of the table. There was a story there, Bulma could tell.

"She's right, you know." Master Roshi took over the story once more. "That Kale's transformation has truly terrifying power and she was almost indestructible. But, at first she completely lost control of her mind. It took her far too long to gain control of herself. She's got terrifying power, no doubt about it, but she's practically a rookie and a follower to boot.

"That girl needs a lot of help before she'll be a threat to a skilled fighter.

"But the other one - the skinny one - she's a different kind of fighter altogether! Their universe has only known about super saiyan for a couple of months, but she'd already perfected it and achieved the next level, too. It took her mere minutes of fighting with Goku to go on and master that. She's inexperienced compared to Goku or Vegeta but she's got a good head on her and instincts to match.

"Add to that the fact that that Kale girl does whatever she tells her and she's definitely the more dangerous of the saiyans we've met."

Krillin nodded thoughtfully.

"And you said earlier that her transformation was different? Kale's, I mean." Bulma asked, intrigued. Just how many saiyan transformations were there?

Krillin was still lost in thought and Roshi was digging into the meal Bunny had just placed in front of him, but 18 nodded sharply.

"It was unlike anything we've seen before." The blonde's voice was typically sharp. "She grew considerably in size and it was as if she was completely impervious to damage while in that state… She was like a different person after she transformed…"

"Hmm," Bulma murmured, thinking, definitely wanting to know more about these new saiyans but wanting to keep the conversation on the tournament rather than going off on tangents. . "But that's still only seven. What about the others?"

"Well… There was that little 'Doctor', whatever his name was. I never saw him do anything before he got knocked out. And there were two Namekians." Master Roshi took up the story once more, speaking between mouthfuls of food. "They were the last fighters for that universe. They were unbelievably strong for namekians and they fought proudly."

Bulma nodded thoughtfully and let the others get on with their meal. There was still so much more she didn't know and so many questions bouncing around in her head, but they deserved to eat in peace after everything they'd been through. And she needed to piece together what she'd learned and decide what her next questions should be.

She watched her husband, eating in his typical, saiyan way and thought that perhaps he'd come back the most changed of all of them.

"I have an idea…" Bulma said at last, "Whis did say that he and Beerus would be back in a couple of days… I think we should have them invite Universe Six for a party!" 

* * *

**Goku **

Goku was tired. He really was. But since following Chichi back into the house and finally getting into bed, he hadn't been able to sleep at all.

His mind kept replaying the fights of the tournament; the kicks, the blows, the impacts; the anticipation; the _excitement._

And the pleas of his wife asking him to give up the thing he loved most.

Instead of being comfortable, his bed was stuffy and too quiet, and try as he might, he just couldn't clear his head. Sleep, for once in his life, had abandoned him. 

* * *

**Caulifla**

Caulifla had gotten drunk last night. Really drunk. _Too drunk, _her head complained as she cracked an eye to the glaring daylight.

She hadn't stopped after putting Kale to bed: it hadn't been hard to find some of her guys and they'd all been happy to buy, even if by then she hadn't felt like talking about the fights. They'd all heard what Cabba had said about the universe being erased and they were all just glad to still be alive. She couldn't blame them.

She was sure, too, that it hadn't just been alcohol they'd been celebrating with last night, but she really couldn't remember.

Rolling over, she pulled the duvet over her head, grateful for the darkness, unte the thought intruded that she really ought to check on Kale again. She didn't want to think about it - she wanted to go back to sleep - but the thought had made its way into her muddled head and it was stuck there now.

Kale… Kale was a special case. Caulifla considered Kale to be one of hers: not just a member of her gang, but one of the few that she thought of as _hers_, no matter what. The young woman had a core of steel but she had more than her fair share of issues. Issues that sometimes Caulifla wished she didn't have to deal with, but the thought of leaving Kale to deal on her own just wasn't one she could swallow.

Grabbing her phone and covering her eyes from the glare she knew it would make, Caulifla grumbled at her phone to send a voice message, glad of how well it recognised her commands even when hungover, and managed to record what she hoped was an intelligible question.

The response came quickly. "_Yeah, I'm fine._" Kale's voice was quiet but steady, more reassuring than the words themselves. "_Are you?_"

_Good question. _

Caulifla couldn't be bothered with an answer, instead letting herself fall back into sleep, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't feel quite so awful when she woke up.

* * *

**Caulifla**

Several hours later, sunlight shining directly onto her face, Caulifla woke to find she had more messages waiting for her. Another voicemail from Kale, a series of messages from her second and a message from Cabba.

She knew she hadn't given the Elite her number. Maybe her brother deserved a good wallop.

Groaning but feeling a little better, she started on Kale's message.

"_I guess that answers that. Um, Chini messaged me a while ago saying he couldn't get hold of you and what should he do about the shipment from Julienne. It's sorted for now but you should probably check that what I've told him is right. What happened? There wasn't _that _much beer!_"

Pressing the record button she spoke into the phone. "There wasn't _enough _beer. I went down to the bar. I got carried away." Remembering the rest of Kale's message she hit record again, "Whatever you told him to do is fine. It's his job to sort it out, not yours and he knows it."

Stripping off as she entered the bathroom, she read through Chini's messages. Typical stuff. The man was capable, no doubt about it, but every now and then, he'd ask dumb questions. He'd have been her third, rather than second, had Kale been up to handling the pressure, and he knew it. That was why he'd deferred to Kale, despite her lower rank. She'd have to talk to him about that. He could be second and do it properly, or he could not. No in-betweens.

She was about to put the phone down and get into the shower when she saw Cabba's message.

_Champa wants to see the three of us this afternoon _

She looked at the time. It was already afternoon. Her head was still pounding and this wasn't helping.

_What's that mean?_ She shot back, glad to see he was online already.

She'd finished cleaning her teeth before she got a response. Still waiting to get in the shower.

_Any time between 4 & 5 _

Next came a location. The Elite's training centre.

_Great_

She really hoped he could read the sarcasm in that one word.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I know not much happened this chapter, I'm just trying to set the scene and start moving the characters into position for the following chapters.

Toodles!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey peeps!

Thank you to everyone who is following this story or who has left reviews! Here's the next chapter for you!

* * *

**Caulifla**

Caulifla hated the military training grounds here in Paysanne. Years ago in her deluded youth, she'd tried to follow after her brother, thinking that the military might suit her. Maybe it would have if those left in charge of initial training hasn't been idiots.

Caulifla could follow orders, in fact she liked having a solid chain of command, but she wasn't one for arbitrary instructions. If there was a reason for something she'd do it. If she didn't know the reason then she had to trust that the person giving the order had a good reason. Unfortunately, most of the individuals in charge of her training had been little more than petty bullies who between them didn't have two brain cells to rub together. She'd told herself over and over that she just had to stick it out, it _would _get better. But as a teenage girl - an unusually strong teenage girl at that, in a predominantly male environment - she'd been the one to receive the worst treatment.

At the time she'd been furious at herself for letting them drive her out, for forcing her to quit, but even then she'd known that there was no way she'd last in an organisation that treated its people like that. Even if it did get better after initial training was over, the fact that as an organisation they allowed that those outside of the norm - regardless or perhaps because of above average skills - to receive such treatment, told her everything she needed to know.

Now she was back here, Kale stood one one side, Cabba on the other, as they waited for Vados and Champa to arrive.

Kale looked uncomfortable to be stood in the centre of the training grounds, teams running laps around the perimeter, but unfortunately being uncomfortable wasn't unusual for Kale

"Remind me again why we have to meet them _here_?" Caulifla said, rounding on Cabba once more.

He flinched a little under the look she was giving him and bowed apologetically. "This is where we always meet, Caulifla san. Vados simply said to meet them as normal."

"And you couldn't recommend anywhere better?" She asked, trying but failing to keep the snarl out of her voice. She didn't much like the young soldier but it wasn't his fault she was still hungover.

Fortunately it was only a couple more minutes until the strange duo appeared before them. Except that it wasn't just Vados and Champa: Hit was with them too, as was Fuwa.

Frankly, Champa looked even worse than she felt. The obese cat looked stressed and Caulifla had to wonder just what it had done to a God of Destruction to himself be destroyed, if only for a short time. It had certainly shaken _her_. Vados and Hit on the other hand, looked as if they'd walked out of some photo shoot. Despite their odd clothing and appearance there wasn't a wrinkle or crease to be seen and neither of them looked like they'd just lived through the end of the universe. It certainly didn't do much for Champa's image to be flanked by the two of them. But perhaps that was what Fuwa was there for.

Shorter and dumpier than Champa, the green-skinned Kai was, if possible, even less impressive than the cat, and looked even more rattled. Frankly, he managed to make even Champa look almost composed and presentable. Caulifla had to admit that this was probably a trying time for the two of them, but it was exactly at times like these that they should be even more in control than normal. Isn't that what they were there for? To be leaders?

"Good, you're all here." Champa said in place of a greeting. "Now where can I get some food around here?"

'_Oh yeah,' _she thought, '_impressive stuff._' Not that food would hurt.

Apparently this was normal as it turned out that Cabba had already made reservations for them.

Caulifla fell into steep behind them as they started moving, not really wanting to get drawn into conversation. Naturally Kale fell in beside her, but surprisingly, so did Hit.

"Long night?" The assassin asked and she glared at him through her sunglasses.

"Are they always this impressive?" She asked instead of answering, nodding her head at the cat.

Hit shot her a sideways glance, knowing or conspiratorial perhaps, for all his face was expressionless. "More or less."

"And the others?"

He knew what she meant: the other gods. "I met most of them for the first time yesterday, the same as you. Universe Seven… is marginally better. Beerus is more dignified on the surface but not when he's dealing with his brother. Their Supreme Kai handles himself well but he's inexperienced and the older Supreme Kai spends most of his time chastising him. From what little I've learned, they're just more used to dealing with the unexpected."

It was a longer answer than she'd expected from the usually recalcitrant assassin.

"You've met them a few times?" Caulifla asked, taking advantage of his current mood. Kale was listening with interest too.

"Ah."

So much for that talkative streak.

"Any idea what this is about?" She pressed. Hit had travelled here with them so he might know more.

"Champa's unhappy about losing. Vados suggested offering training."

Caulifla nodded, "She said as much yesterday."

The conversation died off as they moved out of the training grounds and onto the city streets, but fortunately they didn't have far to walk.

To her surprise, Cabba was the one who placed the orders once they were seated in the restaurant. Fuwa, Champa and Vados being unfamiliar with the foods seemed happy to let him choose for them.

Caulifla couldn't remember being at such an uncomfortable dinner since her last family meal. Fuwa looked distinctly on edge, watching Champa as if he might explode at any moment, and the cat genuinely looked as if he might. But he also looked as if he might cry, all while keeping up a feeble façade of imperiousness.

"Champa sama," Vados chimed in, her voice politely deferring, but clear all the same, "Wasn't there something you wanted to say?"

The chubby cat seemed to grind his teeth before collecting himself enough to talk. "You all fought well yesterday," he said, the words sounding forced, "But- _but it wasn't enough_!" his composure slipped and the words burst out of him as he slammed a fist down onto the table, setting the cutlery to rattling and making Kale flinch.

Seeing Champa's emotional state, Fuwa cut in. "Perhaps," he started timidly, eyeing them and fastidiously keeping his eyes off the cat, "we have been remiss in our handling of the situation. As Kais, our duties are to enable mortals to grow and develop, guiding them towards enlightened and peaceful civilisations. The Hakaishin are tasked with ensuring enough change to enable this. I think perhaps we have taken too passive a role in our duties, allowing mortals to develop freely…" He too trailed off as Vados nodded her agreement.

"There is much room for improvement." She said, voice and bearing sure but polite. She was certainly the most capable of the three. "Considering Zeno sama's recent interest in fighting, Champa sama and Fuwa sama thought it prudent to start by offering the four of you training.

"We have discussed the events which took place during your absence," she continued, and Caulifla wanted to scoff at the choice of words, "And have agreed that, of all the participants in the tournament, saiyans showed the most growth. Hit has also shown a great propensity for rapid development and as such is included in this invitation."

"She's right!" Champa exploded." Those damned saiyans of my brother's-" he clenched his fist, cutting himself off, "We need to beat them!" He growled, voice determined, looking each of them in the eye.

Champa seemed to be walking a fine line. The events of the tournament had clearly shaken him deeply and his pride was hurt, but he seemed to be making an effort to not write off their achievements, despite their loss. He might not be a very good leader but he _was_ trying.

"You said you lost to Universe Seven before?" Caulifla asked, referencing what Cabba had mentioned the day before, trying not to make it sound like a jab at the cat's pride.

"Hai," Cabba nodded, cutting in before anyone could take offence, "once in a smaller tournament and once in a game of sports."

"Is Son Goku always with them?"

"That damn idiot is my brother's trump card!" Champa burst out, "I hate him! I _hate_ him!" The god was pulling at his long ears in frustration and Caulifla couldn't help but think it was no surprise their team hadn't won: if their universe's gods were so pathetic what hope was there?

"Give me just a fraction of the training they've had and I'll take him down," she said, looking at the cat, promising it to herself as much as him.

"Son Goku won't lose easily." Hit said from beside her. "He has an unprecedented capacity to adapt and grow."

"You think I can't win?" she challenged the ancient assassin.

"It's unlikely."

"Watch me."

* * *

**Vados**

Vados watched the exchange impassively.

She'd already decided not to tell anyone just how strong Vegeta san and Goku san had become by the end of the tournament. It wouldn't do any good for them to know. Not right now.

Vados, like her siblings, was merely a guide. She served as an assistant and an advisor as needed, but her role was far more profound than that. And far more subtle.

It had been her and her siblings who had advised Zeno sama on which universes should be exempt from the tournament, and which should compete.

And it had definitely been to Universe Six's advantage that they take part. Not only were Champa and Fuwa in dire need of a wakeup call, but inter-universal interaction had been non existent for far too long. It wasn't something that was supposed to happen regularly but it _did_ need to happen.

As such she'd been pleased when the two deities had come to the conclusion that their previous lax attitude could no longer continue.

Similarly, watching the young saiyan woman speak so confidently gave her a sense of satisfaction. She might be misguided about how mammoth a task she was facing, but she was facing it with solemn determination. There was a chance she'd never reach her goal, though it was hard to make accurate predictions where saiyans were involved, but she'd certainly try. And by doing so she'd make a difference.

* * *

A/N: I know it wasn't very long but I'll be posting chapter 4 this weekend. Next up: Bulma's party!

Let me know if there's something you'd like to see and I'll try and work it in provided it fits with the rest of the storyline!

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Chichi**

The Briefs household was as clean and modern as ever, exactly as you'd expect of the wealthiest family on Earth. For years Chichi had longed for a home like theirs – a _life_ like theirs – but she'd finally conceded that it was never going to happen. She might have been a princess, but she was never going to live a life of luxury and ease like Bunny Briefs.

It had been almost two weeks since that ridiculous tournament and she still couldn't understand just what had driven Bulma to throw this party. It wasn't as if Bulma ever really needed an excuse to throw a party but wasn't her friend as sick of all this fighting as she was? Bulma had never been a fighter, unlike Chichi herself, and Chichi couldn't understand why Bulma included herself as much as she did in any fight that was going on. Nor why she let Vegeta leave constantly; he was as bad as Goku, and this party was just encouragement to the lot of them to keep on with their nonsense.

Chichi had only just gotten her husband to stop wasting his hours training and to act a bit more responsible: the last thing she needed was this.

Never mind that Chichi had seen the other universe's fighters at the previous tournament and couldn't imagine that any of them had any interest in coming here. The small saiyan aside – finally a saiyan who was polite and well spoken! – they'd been an odd lot. Chichi knew that Bulma's curiosity was insatiable, but to invite an assassin into your home? Or a giant rubber bear and his lava-spewing metal friend? Wasn't it bad enough that Bulma insisted on inviting Whis and Beerus back again and again? That was what had started all this recent mess. And Kami forbid the heiress had invited that awful Frost.

Despite her disapproval she felt for this whole affair, for once Chichi had actually managed to get all of her family here on time. She'd had to lie and tell her hyperactive husband that the party started hours before it actually had, but they'd made it on time for once. It always amazed her how he could appear just in time for a fight but be late to absolutely everything else.

She'd tried, really tried, to get him to wear some more appropriate clothes than his usual garish gi: she didn't want her family to look like a bunch of hooligans in front of all their friends. But of course, this was Goku - the most passively stubborn man she'd ever known; as such he was still wearing his training clothes, albeit clean ones. And, seeing Vegeta dressed similarly in his typical saiyan armour, she supposed she was truly fighting a losing battle on that front.

Chichi had just sat down in the shade of an umbrella, drink in hand, when the by-now familiar flash of light shot from the sky, hitting the ground in the large, clear space between the tables. It was larger than usual and faded to reveal another of those travelling cubes, Whis standing on top once more, Vados beside him.

It was a matter of moments before all of the passengers had stepped out onto the Capsule Corp. grounds and the cube vanished.

Chichi had somewhat expected the two enormous creatures, and the stoic-faced purple assassin. Frost fortunately wasn't there, but the small saiyan man, still in his usual blue clothing, was. _Saiyans…_

She looked appraisingly at a small red boar dressed in dark robes and glasses. He didn't look like a fighter at all.

What she hadn't expected was two more namekians, their faces as stern and unreadable as her own former house guest. Chichi might not admit it out loud but she had a little bit of a soft spot for the namekians. For all that Piccolo certainly wasn't typical for his species, he'd been a support during the years that Goku had been dead that she couldn't have done without. The other namekians were a kind and sympathetic people who didn't fight or antagonise, instead going out of their way to perform small acts of kindness for those around them. Altruistic was perhaps the best way to describe them. Out of all of the strange "friends" they'd made over the years, the namekians were the ones she liked the most.

Perhaps these two would be the same, despite having been caught up in the nonsense of the tournament?

But the most unexpected of all were the two small, spiky-haired women standing at the edge of the group. Despite the distance between them, Chichi could see the similarities to the small saiyan soldier: the eyes, the stature. Were those saiyan _women_?

They were tiny – genuinely tiny! And although one of them looked as arrogant as Vegeta, the other, the taller of the two, her hair in a ponytail atop her head, was practically hiding.

"Yo! Hit!" Goku was the first one to talk, typically at ease no matter the situation. The assassin – an assassin for crying out loud – looked in her husband's direction and nodded and apparently it was enough to set the group into motion.

Cabba moved to bow to Bulma before rushing to Vegeta, repeating his bow and talking respectfully to the uninterested Prince for a short moment before returning to the group. Following brief introductions by the small soldier, Mr Briefs wandered over to talk to the small, bespectacled boar and the two namekians moved quietly out of the way, content to observe for now.

The taller of the two saiyans cowered further, clearly uncomfortable at the prospect of socialising. But –

"Hey! Old dude!" The smaller saiyan woman had a rough voice and an equally coarse way of talking. What kind of woman spoke like that?

"Hey Caulifa!" Goku answered. Chichi wasn't impressed to see the smile on his face. Of course he'd be friends with that one, not the polite one. "How's it going?"

"When are you gonna teach me that Blue thing?" The miniscule woman snapped back, eyes narrowed.

Goku, scratching at the back of his head simply responded with "You haven't learnt it yet?"

The saiyan woman looked like she was about to snarl as her eye twitched. "What's that? Are you mocking me again?!"

Chichi watched as her husband chuckled. "Well, you learned so quick in the tournament... I guess I'm interested in how much you've learnt since." He waved his hands disarmingly in front of him at the sight of her angry face, "But you're not ready for Blue yet." As her eye began to twitch once more he grinned and added with an awkward chuckle, "Even if it won't take you long!"

Caulifla stalked up to him, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. "Don't belittle me." It was a growl.

"'Be-little'? I don't know what that means... But you are pretty small." He'd barely had time to laugh before the small woman must have punched him, turned and left, but it all happened too fast for Chichi to see. She was sure she was right though from the way her husband was rubbing at his jaw and the angry woman, her back now to them as she made her way back to her companion, repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fist. The timid woman was shooting Goku a hooded glare which didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey Kale!" Goku waved to the hunched woman whose eyes widened for an instant before she sharpened her glare and turned away, letting her friend steer her in the opposite direction.

Just why had Bulma thrown this party?

_Why_ had she invited even more fighters into their lives?

_Why_? 

* * *

**Vegeta**

The party was in full swing and Vegeta was stuck here whether he liked it or not. Not only had Bulma threatened to disable the gravity room if he didn't attend, but Bulla was being passed around like nobody's business and, though he'd never admit it to anyone, he wasn't going to let anyone – _anyone_ – touch his daughter while he wasn't around.

And so, despite the noise and the people, the stupid music and the fact that he was missing out on training, Vegeta was here. He'd already had to endure Cabba. Perhaps there wasn't anything wrong with the young soldier but Vegeta simply wanted to be left alone. Kakarot at least understood that and usually left him to his solitude. It made the clown tolerable at least, but Cabba, despite being far more intelligent than the earthling saiyan, seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that his company and admiration was utterly unwanted.

Unfortunately the smaller man seemed utterly taken with Bulla, and she with him. So Vegeta had to stay nearby. He wasn't hovering – he was a prince and didn't do such things – but he wasn't going to leave his infant daughter alone with all these alien fighters from another universe.

He'd be keeping watch as long as his wife was excitedly questioning Magetta, the great pile of junk, about his people. Vegeta neither knew nor cared how the metal-man's species functioned but for his wife this was the opportunity of a lifetime. She seemed equally interested in Botamo and the way that he was impervious to damage. She'd been engrossed in conversation with them both for nearly half an hour now.

The namekian, as solitary as Vegeta himself, was holding up the wall on the opposite side of the party. He'd been subtly eyeing the other namekians but had not engaged them in conversation beyond polite greetings. Their culture was very similar to the namekians of this universe it seemed and the young Guardian seemed to enjoy their company and had drawn them into the party proper, but the caped man, silent and aloof as he was, had never fit amongst his own species anyway and didn't seem inclined to try with these new slugs.

Seated at the same table as the cooing young saiyan were the other saiyans at the party. There had been some kind of disagreement between Caulifla and the clown at the start of the party, something Vegeta himself understood only far too well, but whatever it was had seemingly blown over and now Kakarot was eating, surrounded by plates. The tall saiyan was utterly relaxed in these situations, when he remembered to turn up, at least. He seemed to be enjoying the company and was totally at ease stealing food off the plate of the tiny woman beside him who would elbow him and then proceed to steal his food in return.

Kale on the other hand seemed ready to curl in on herself and disappear, surrounded as she was by people. She certainly didn't have the confidence of her 'anesan', nor the bearing fitting of a true saiyan. She was the larger of the two women, though still considerably smaller than the saiyan women he remembered from his childhood, but she was making a concerted effort to take up as little space as possible.

Caulifla was the exact opposite: despite her diminutive size she had confidence and presence. Looking at her he would have thought it impossible for her to fight on par with either himself or Kakarot but, despite needing more training, she had enough raw power that she could match either of them in super saiyan one or two. Even though she looked as if she didn't have an ounce of muscle on her.

She also looked completely oblivious to the dagger-sharp looks Kakarot's harpy wife was sending her way. That was normal behaviour for the human woman: she had done the same with the android and that fool Satan's daughter. She was insecure and judgmental enough that she treated all new women with the same harsh disdain.

Vegeta knew that Caulifla _had_ noticed though.

He'd seen the twitching of her eye when she'd first noticed the looks she was receiving, had seen as her protégé had put a gentle but restraining hand on her arm. Just the threat of an argument had the girl shrinking in on herself and Vegeta suspected it was only her nervous presence that had the fiery smaller woman acting so blasé, despite the continuing looks.

Kakarot was as oblivious as ever. Of course.

Vegeta wondered though, if the clown had even noticed how he'd instantly gravitated towards the other saiyans, almost the moment they'd arrived. If he was aware of how his face had split in a grin that was somehow more earnest and more excited than usual, as he spoke to the fierce woman.

Vegeta knew he was hardly a good example of interpersonal skills himself, but he'd never seen Kakarot act like that even once with a woman, not even his wife, in the years that he'd known him. The clown was relaxed and easy-going with everyone, but this was different. This was how he acted with his sons or Krillin or, Vegeta found himself realising, with Vegeta himself.

This was the side of Kakarot reserved for those he was closest with.

And, as Chichi continued shooting sharp looks at the rowdy group, Vegeta came to the conclusion that _she_ wasn't on that list.

Thinking about it now, Kakarot and his wife had a more cordial relationship than Vegeta thought he himself could ever have with the Harpy, but their relationship seemed formal at best.

He'd questioned many times over the years just why Kakarot - the strongest warrior he'd ever known - would endure such treatment as he received from his wife, and each time he'd come up short. He never questioned it aloud, of course, and never would. Even if the question resurfaced each time he saw them together.

It hadn't really been a point of interest to him until after they fused while fighting Buu. That was an event that he tried not to think about, but he couldn't truly deny that it had happened and in those minutes... He didn't know how to describe it, even to himself. Vegito had been a person all his own, a being meant to last the rest of their mortal lives. It had been different to what the boys described when they spoke about the fusion, had had none of the sense of impermanence. Vegito had been neither Vegeta nor Kakarot but a new being comprised of everything that they were and had been.

Though he hadn't noticed at first, caught up in the search for the boys and the fight as he had been, he'd retained most of Vegito's memories – Kakarot's memories. And though they weren't his memories and he could always tell the difference, for a short while they had been Vegito's memories and he had been Vegito.

The short and simple of it was that he had plenty of memories of Kakarot's life with the human woman, had even more from the second fusion, and none of them gave Vegeta the sense of a happy marriage.

The two were practically strangers living under the same roof – when she allowed him to sleep under that roof at all. The clown was fond of her but there was no love lost between them. And Vegeta, as a more objective observer, could see very little love on her part either.

Still, to see him reacting so openly to these new saiyans... It threw that difference into stark relief, and Vegeta found himself intrigued.

* * *

**Caulifla**

She'd noticed those looks. Of course she had.

Just what was that woman's problem?

Her vision had barely cleared after the flash of light in which they'd arrived before the old human woman was looking at her as if she'd somehow mortally offended her. At first Caulifla had wondered if it was because their universes had been opponents in the tournament, but none of the others had reacted in any way similarly: Vegeta's blue haired mate had been friendly and welcoming; the black haired woman with Gohan, too, for all that she'd been a little more reserved. Caulifla thought her name had been given as Videl.

There were a number of others whom she hadn't seen at the tournament and none of them had treated her, or any of them, with anything less than respect, though some were clearly a little wary or nervous.

Well, except for Goku who seemed to treat everyone like a friend, and Vegeta who acted like he thought they were all beneath him.

But not that one.

Chichi, blue haired Bulma had introduced her as, but Caulifla couldn't place her within the group. It was clear from their scents that Bulma and Vegeta were partners and that the little purple haired pre-teen was their son, the baby he held their daughter. The slender woman, Videl, and Gohan were clearly also an item It was the little black haired pre-teen that threw her. He could have been Goku's clone and was unquestionably his son. He carried both his scent and the scent of the foul tempered woman who must have been his mother. But there was no trace, not even a hint, of Goku's scent on her, nor hers on him. They could have been strangers.

Frankly this universe's namekians carried more of the woman's scent than Goku did.

It wasn't really any of her business though, so she hadn't asked and had instead decided, after Kale's timely interruption, to simply ignore the miserable hag. _That_ had definitely had quite the effect: the other woman's glares had gained in intensity throughout the party and it was only a matter of time until she exploded. In fact, Caulifla was surprised that she hadn't already.

Ignoring the woman further, Caulifla turned her attention to her surroundings.

The little of the planet that they'd seen, really just this enormous compound, was pretty and tranquil. They were clearly in the middle of a city and it didn't take a genius to see that the Briefs family – the human family that Vegeta was now a part of – was wealthy. Whether they had picked this area for its good weather was impossible to tell but the bright blue sky and small white clouds; this planet's single, small sun; they all made for a pleasant afternoon. If the planet was generally like this she could see why the two saiyans had made their home here.

Honestly, she'd been excited to receive the invitation to come here. Son Goku had been an opponent worth fighting. Most participants had been strong: some enough to provide a genuine challenge, but no one else, Jiren aside, had dominated the ring like Son Goku and his fellow Universe Seven saiyan. Even his son hadn't been able to match up to the two of them, nor had any of their other teammates.

It bothered her that these saiyans were just so much bigger than her, or saiyans of her universe. They weren't just taller: they were broader, more muscular, more aggressive and had such strong personalities. On Sadala people like her were politely viewed as oddities. The majority had left their savage natures behind and had become much calmer, much less bloodthirsty. They still liked fighting but it was different to how Caulifla felt about it.

Sitting at the table with the large man she thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd found a kindred spirit – someone else who fought for the sheer joy of it, for the thrill.

And now he was pinching food from her plate. Well, two could play at that game.

It was daft and childish but in no time she was holding back a smile, determined not to show just how much fun she was having.

She was glad she'd come. 

* * *

A/N:Thank you again for reading, and for your reviews!

So, universe 6 has made it to universe 7 for Bulma's party, and so it begins.

What's next for our favourite saiyans?

I'll warn you now: I've got shed loads of this ready but I'm still missing linking scenes for some parts. That's why I keep asking for your input and why I appreciate it when you give it. But because of that I can't really promise you any kind of posting schedule…


	5. Chapter 5

Welcome back, it's time for chapter 5!

It's still pretty slow moving - more glimpses into our characters' lives and thoughts.

**BUT** there is smut in this chapter. Not loads but a bit.

Enjoy!

* * *

**GOKU**

Tending the fields was relaxing, in a calm, quiet way. It kept him moving and Goku enjoyed the days spent under the warm mountain sun. He loved being outdoors and the work was easy.

Not only that, but while he was here, Goku could get away with the odd few minutes here and there of working out, and the routine of it helped keep his usual restlessness in check.

"They look great, Goku-san," Chichi's voice drifted over from the far side of the field, and Goku looked up from where he'd been crouching, carefully picking a slug of one of the cabbages.

"They sure do!" he agreed, rising into the air, the small creature cradled in his hand as he drifted over towards his wife. Though he was surprised to see her here, he didn't let it show.

"They'll need harvesting in the next day or two," she said, glancing out over the vast field.

Goku scrunched his face up softly in thought. Chichi was definitely better at remembering dates and schedules than he was, but… "Not yet," he disagreed.

Chichi eyed him suspiciously. For all that she was the one who kept track of planting and harvesting seasons, she'd never developed the same sense for the weather or the plants that he had.

The usual seasonal showers hadn't come over the last two weeks and he'd been reluctant to use too much of the river water for irrigation as the water level had already dropped lower than normal. The air pressure had shifted over the last few hours though, and he was sure that by sunrise the next day the rain would have come.

"Don't you go thinking you can put off harvesting so you can train instead," Chichi said, eyeing him sharply.

He wasn't entirely surprised at what she said. She was still mistrustful that he'd stopped training, and she had a point he supposed - he _was_ still doing workouts whenever he could, but they couldn't be called training, not by a long stretch. But this time she was wrong about his motives.

"No! No!" He asserted smiling, raising his hands and taking a step back in a disarming manner. "But it's gonna rain soon, and I think it'd be good for 'em to get some more water…"

She eyed him a moment longer, then nodded, seemingly pacified by his answer. Her face fell back into a satisfied smile as she looked out over the field.

Feeling relieved at no longer being scrutinised, Goku began searching around for a good place to put the slug, aware of the small creature's growing distress at being trapped in the heat of his hand. Finally settling on a spot a couple of hundred metres away from the field, Goku quickly put the slug down, wiping his hand clean on his trousers as he stood.

"So, uh, is dinner ready yet?" He ventured.

Having Chichi here made him nervous: he hadn't forgotten her demand, just over a month ago, that he give up fighting - and he was doing the best he could - but he tried to spend as much time out of the house as he could, specifically so that the subject wouldn't come up again.

"Of course not!" Chichi snapped back half-heartedly, this conversation long familiar by now. "It's far too early for dinner," she continued, by now we'll used to dealing with him and his love of food. She rolled her eyes before turning away and beginning the walk back to the house, muttering about saiyans as she went.

Goku sagged slightly in relief, glad that the tactic had worked. He cared for Chichi deeply, but - well… they each wanted very different things from life and he'd long ago learned to avoid conflict with her whenever he could. Overpowered megalomaniacs hell bent on destroying the world were something he could face up to without a shred of fear, but Chichi? Well, she was another thing entirely…

* * *

**CAULIFLA**

The bed was unfamiliar, its crisp white sheets soft and cool against her skin. It should have been pleasant but compared to the hot, wet lips on her breast and the tongue licking over her nipple, it was nothing more than background noise.

She squirmed slightly, pushing herself up into that wonderful mouth, and almost groaned at the brush of his calloused hand up her side, stopping frustratingly close to the curve of her neglected breast.

Hooking one leg over his hip, Caulifla sighed and thread her fingers through the soft, golden spikes of hair, scratching at his scalp in a way that earned her an approving shiver down his muscular back.

His hand, so big and calloused, and unbelievably strong, drifted back down her body, tickling at the skin of her navel before sliding over her heated core and sending pleasure and excitement coursing up her spine. She succeeded in holding in her moan but could not stop herself further spreading her thighs to grant him easier access, wanting more. She felt lazy and indulgent as she let him play with her body.

She tugged at his hair, wanting to pull him up for a kiss, but only succeeded in removing him from her nipple before he turned his attention to her other breast, nipping at the sensitive underside as she tugged at his hair again.

If his intention was to make her moan he got his way; the feeling of him sucking her nipple into his mouth at the same time that he slid a single finger into her was divine. She could feel her own wetness as he worked her and it wasn't long until he added a second finger, until she was writhing underneath him as she rode his hand, the palm of his hand grinding against her clit.

Each thrust of his digits made her want to cry out for more and each stroke of the tips of his fingers over her sensitive inner walls was pushing her closer and closer to going over.

She wanted to feel his mouth on her, to feel his tongue playing her clit the same way it was playing her nipple, but as his mouth started it's slow, indulgent way up her body instead of down, she could only tremble at the strength of her need.

Had it really been that long, that she'd be so pliant for this beautiful blond man?

She stopped caring as he rose up above her and removed his fingers, using that same slickened hand to pump his already hard length. The sight had her licking her lips and spreading her thighs once more in invitation.

His kiss swollen mouth was set in a cocky smirk as he took in her body with his eyes, lingering on her breasts and the apex of her thighs.

She groaned even louder as he positioned his tip at her entrance and began sliding into her. She was already so close and, as he pushed deeper and deeper into her, she knew it wouldn't take long.

Pulling back out, he set her inner walls to trembling as his fingers found that sensitive nub, working it expertly, thrusting back in at an angle that nearly pushed her over the edge.

Grasping at his shoulders she-

_CRASH_

… No…

Rolling onto her back, Caulifla groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as another ominous clatter emanated from the hallway downstairs, quickly and efficiently dispelling any last remnants of her dream.

'Are they serious?!' She growled angrily in her head.

She recognised the two voices arguing downstairs and heard the tell tale signs of a fight about to break out, as well as Kale's timid attempts to calm the two gang members.

Definitely time to get up, dream or no.

Who had she been dreaming about? She didn't know any blond men, did-

Oh.

Oh yes she did.

And now she knew exactly which one she'd been dreaming about.

Shutting down that thought as abruptly and harshly as she could, she scrambled to get dressed. Even rushing as she was, she could hear the argument downstairs beginning to escalate and she really hoped they didn't actually start brawling in her hallway because if they did, after waking her up, this'd make for a memorable morning for all of them - and not in a good way.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Caulifla pulled open her bedroom door. Time to deal with her guys.

And forget all about that dream.

About him. 

* * *

**GOKU**

"More training?!" Chichi's voice raised in a shriek, making Goku flinch.

"Well, yeah…" Why? Why did he never know what to say?

He could clearly see a blood vessel pulsing on his angry wife's forehead and knew he was in trouble this time.

She'd told him right after the tournament, almost two months ago, that she didn't want him fighting anymore and he'd done his best to knuckle down and work. He'd even gone so far as to take on a couple more bodyguard jobs for Mr Satan, as much as he disliked them and hated the ill-fitting suits that went with them. He'd done everything he could to avoid the subject coming up, hoping - in vain it seemed - that his wife would forget all about it.

But all along, her words had echoed in his head.

'Please, Goku san, please tell me you're done with all of this. That you're done with all the fighting.'

They felt like a lead weight in his stomach.

These two months had been tough: His body was itching for a fight, a proper work out; and he hardly slept at all because of the restless aching of his joints.

Did she really expect him to give up the one thing that really mattered to him?

It certainly seemed that way

"But Chichi, Whis and Beerus are expecting me to go. And it's only training."

"I don't know what you think you're training for!" Came the sharp retort as she slammed her palm down on the table, making the wood tremble. "You've already beaten every threat in this universe and if there's a problem you can just press that button and call your 'Zen-chan'." She scoffed the name, disdain clear in her voice.

"You're not young anymore Goku, when are you going to accept that?"

Goku had never thought of himself as old, never had a reason to.

And he'd never felt older than he did at that moment: sluggish muscles, aching joints, lost and completely without direction.

He'd felt more alive in the years he'd spent in other world than he did right now.

"It doesn't work like that, Chichi. We can't depend on someone else to save us."

"Save us from _what,_ exactly? Why can't you accept that there isn't anything left to fight? All you need to do is provide a role model for your son and granddaughter. Is that so hard? Everyone else can do it!"

Goku scratched at the back of his head, feeling awkward. She had a point, he supposed: everyone else _could_ do it. But he wasn't everyone else. He was him.

This conversation really wasn't going well. Time to try a slightly different approach.

"But Chichi," he tried his most disarming, clueless smile, "Beerus really wanted us to train more. And Bulma said Vegeta's going…" That last was usually the winning line.

Bulma was successful, wealthy and strong willed; three things Chichi saw as important for a woman. Admittedly, Vegeta didn't work and Trunks didn't spend anywhere near the amount of time studying that Chichi thought he should, but throwing Bulma into the conversation - specifically that she was 'allowing' Vegeta to do something - usually helped.

She glared at him for several long moments before turning back to the cooking, leaving an uncomfortable, if familiar, silence hanging over them.

Well, he wasn't going to get anything more out of her now. With a sigh, Goku turned and made his way to the door.

"Fine." Chichi's voice cut across the room and he turned to look at her, one hand still on the door handle. "You can go," her voice was sharp with anger, "but this is the last time, Goku san!"

Her voice had an air of finality to it that Goku didn't like.

He knew he wasn't a perfect husband but never had he asked her to change anything about herself, to be someone different. He'd always done his best to do what he could to keep her happy, even when what she was asking was completely against his nature. Yes, he'd left a lot of times and he knew that was hard on her. But he couldn't understand why she was so determined to change who he was.

"Is that clear?"

How could he answer? His tongue felt like it was made of lead.

He swallowed and tried again "Come on Cheech, you don't really mean-"

"Oh, I mean it! Goku san, all you ever do is run off to train or fight. Well, no more! It's time you were a real member of this family." She turned her back on him once more.

* * *

**GOKU**

The by now familiar sight of Beerus' strange planet was more comforting than he'd expected. He'd never found it that way before but now, after another sleepless night - his wife's declaration bouncing around in his head - it felt good to be back here.

It was much later than usual, Whis and Beerus having stayed for dinner, and Goku was fighting to suppress a yawn.

Vegeta, his grey combat suit as crisp and clean as ever, didn't seem to be sharing any of his fellow saiyan's fatigue. He didn't however object when Whis announced that training would begin in the morning and bid them goodnight.

Goku fell into step behind the shorter man, trailing him as they made their way to their usual room.

Their room, when they entered it, was the same as always. In fact, aside from the piles of clean bedding on the foot of each bed, the room appeared to have been left untouched: Vegeta's bed was still as far from Goku's as it was possible to be, and Goku's bedding was still in disarray along with the gi Whis had given him.

It felt strangely like home, though not as much as Other World. Neither should feel like that when he had a family and a home back on earth. 

* * *

**VEGETA**

Vegeta wasn't one to dwell on memories, but every now and then he remembered his first day of training with Whis: the sheer difficulty of the tasks he'd been assigned, never mind how many chores he had to complete before his training even started.

He'd never done a single chore in his life until he started training with Whis. He'd trained, had pushed his body and his mind to breaking point and then forced himself beyond, never resting, never stopping.

But he'd never washed a plate or mopped a floor.

He was the Saiyan Prince, scion to a now dead race, and he bowed to no one. But Beerus had been a foe of a caliber which Vegeta had never before encountered. Beerus was less a being than he was a force - the likes of which nothing could oppose.

But, of course, nobody had told Kakarot that.

The idiot had almost done the impossible. And if he could do it then Vegeta could too.

He'd pushed himself harder than ever in his months on earth following their first encounter with the Hakaishin, but the moment he'd heard that Whis was in fact Beerus' teacher the answer had become clear to him.

The price of his warrior's pride had been his pride as a Prince. But what was that pride worth if he continued to lose? So he'd done it: he'd swallowed his pride and, for the first time in his life, he'd submitted himself to the teachings of another.

He'd had six blissful months without the clown around but, when Whis had arrived with the idiot in tow, Vegeta had swallowed his objections and trusted Whis. The reward for his obedience and hard work had been Super Saiyan Blue.

From there both he and Kakarot had worked even harder, completing their chores faster and faster to give themselves more time for training, giving everything they had and more, even knowing that come morning they'd simply start again, feeling like they'd hardly slept at all.

Despite reaching a level beyond Blue, nothing had changed, Vegeta threw himself into his training with the same commitment, the same abandon.

He'd failed at the tournament and that simply wasn't good enough.

* * *

A/N:

Thanks for reading!

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and that you haven't lost faith in or gotten bored of my story just yet. There's still plenty more to come and we'll be getting more substantial time jumps (like in the DB verse) to move things along.

A huge thank you to those of you who have taken the time to review - I'm taking all of your comments on board and I appreciate each and every one of them!


	6. Chapter 6

So, as an apology for not updating last week and because I´m super appreciative of all the follows this fic is getting, here´s another chapter for you all.

We´re finally making some progress this chapter, for all that it might feel a little slow moving. This chapter is set over about 6 months though I've not made it clear in the text itself (let me know if you want me to make it clearer - in my draft versions I have "dates" included), and is set a couple of months after the last chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6

**GOKU**

Whis had told them almost a week ago that they'd be going home tomorrow.

Goku had known for a week now that his training was coming to an end.

And for the first time in his life he'd felt uncomfortable about going home.

He should be happy to be going home - he would have missed so much while he was gone: Goten had been growing like a sapling, taller every day; and Pan, too. His granddaughter had started talking just before he'd left and he was excited to see her again; he wanted to know how Gohan's new research was going - he didn't understand any of it but Gohan had been thrilled to receive the position and he enjoyed seeing the eager, excited look on his son's face when he spoke about his work.

He even wanted to see Bulma, Trunks and Bulla again. He cared about Trunks as much as he did either of his sons and tiny little Bulla was adorable.

But he didn't want to leave.

And somehow after all the months of being away from her, Chichi - who should have been well and truly on the list of people he'd missed - was the person he was least eager to see.

He wasn't ready - wasn't sure he'd _ever_ be ready - to give up his training. He lived and breathed martial arts and didn't even know who he was without it.

Even that thought seemed far too deep and uneasy for him, but it was true.

He wasn't ready to go home, knowing that Chichi intended for him to give up every aspect of his training and fighting. He'd even considered not going back just yet. King Kai would always let him train on his planet, after all. But could he do that? Goku could well imagine Chichi's fury if Vegeta went back but he didn't, and that wasn't something even _he_ was brave enough to face.

**CAULIFLA**

Caulifla fell to the ground with a moan of pain and pure, sheer exhaustion.

She was sprawled on the ground, too tired to even open her eyes, and every breath felt like a monumental effort. She was vaguely aware of something sharp - probably a rock - digging into her back, but she couldn't even find the energy to so much as seriously _think_ about moving off the damn thing, let alone to force her muscles into motion.

This was the result of just a single day on Champa's planet and Caulifla didn't know how she was possibly going to get through the same tomorrow. She _would_ \- she _had to._ She just didn't know _how_.

It had been _months_ since the tournament. Those months had been spent training. Training and training and training. She'd trained with Kale, with Cabba, with her brother and by herself. Vados had insisted that neither she nor Kale were ready for the training they would receive on Champa's planet, despite Caulifla's insistence to the contrary. And right now Caulifla was finally coming to realise the sheer naïveté of her arguments.

_Yes_, she and Kale had done well at the tournament; if you considered that neither of them had ever had any formal training and hadn't even known about super-saiyan or other universes until just a matter of hours before the tournament. And _yes_, Kefla had been able to give that Son Goku a challenge, though Caulifla was beginning to question just how _large_ a challenge. But even after all the months of training and all the growth in that time, Vados had said that today they would start working towards the level of training that Son Goku and his training partner Vegeta had _begun_ with.

_Towards…_

By the Gods, she'd underestimated just how big a challenge they were facing.

It was beyond daunting.

Her only consolation was that Cabba had apparently fared no better, despite having had far more time to prepare.

She didn't even know where he was right now. Somewhere nearby, but that was the extent of the energy she had left to devote to that thought. Kale was closer, if the sound of her heaving breathing was anything to go by.

In a few minutes, she told herself, she'd get up. She'd find the energy somehow and she'd get up, and she'd get Kale up somehow too. She'd find the energy to eat and shower and get back to the room she'd been given. And then, tomorrow, she'd do it all again.

_She would._

Somehow.

**VIDEL**

Videl arrived back home to the now familiar sight of her daughter laughingly flying around the garden. Gamboling through the air and haphazardly bumping into everything from her toys, the trees and even the house.

Pan still wasn't walking and Videl had to admit that she was a little worried about that, but when she could fly, what would possibly make a toddler spontaneously begin walking?

Videl shut the gate behind her and took a look around the garden for Piccolo, knowing that he was never far from Pan. But instead of the namekian she'd expected, she found her eyes landing on her father-in-law instead.

Goku was laying on the grass, head pillowed on his crossed arms as he grinned up at Pan in unbridled delight.

One moment she was watching the two of them, the next her daughter was barrelling into her with a squeal of delight. Videl hadn't had time to brace herself in the slightest, but before she could even begin to fall, Goku had appeared behind her, his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

Freeing one of her hands of the shopping bags weighing her down, Videl wrapped an arm around her daughter and gave Goku a grateful smile over shoulder.

"You're here again?" Videl asked him, not bothering to resist as he took the remaining bags from her and retrieved the one from the floor.

"Yeah!"

"Are you looking for Gohan?" She asked.

"Hm?" Goku hummed as he happily caught his granddaughter when she rose back up into the air, the shopping bags hanging around his elbows as if they weighed nothing. "No."

"Are you looking for food, then?" Videl teased. Goku wasn't the most verbose person by far, but she enjoyed his company. Besides, she was used to Piccolo!

"Ah, no…" Goku grinned, perhaps a bit bashfully. "I just came to see Pan."

Videl smiled. She'd heard the stories of how Gohan had loved spending time with his father when he was young and it was clear just how much Goku loved spending time with both Pan and Goten. From what she'd heard, Goku hadn't made a very good father, but he was a good man who would go to any lengths to help his friends or family and clearly delighted in childish antics. He'd play with Pan for hours at a time. He just wasn't very reliable for the day to day things.

He drove Chichi up the wall, she knew, but Videl liked him. And strange as it was, she got along better with him when Gohan wasn't around. Gohan and his father were just so completely different that, for all that they loved each other, they had a strange, slightly uncomfortable dynamic. n one hand Gohan idolised his father, on the other he was endlessly frustrated that his father refused to grow up. Videl had her own theories about _that_ particular topic based on what she'd heard over the years, but that didn't change how things were right now.

"How are things?" Videl asked as he followed her through the front door and into the kitchen. "Are your crops doing alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I planted a new lot a couple'a weeks ago and they're doing okay."

Videl watched him as he set the shopping bags down on the kitchen counter, then worked his shoulder as if it was annoying him. "And, uh, still no training?" She ventured, voice both sympathetic and concerned. She was still confused by Chichi's latest edict.

He stilled for a moment, his face going serious. "Chichi-" he cut off, maybe searching for the right words, "Chichi's pretty determined that I she doesn't want me to fight anymore…"

"Goku…" She sighed softly. She'd long ago dropped the honorific off his name, at least in private - he clearly didn't care about it anyway - and she'd learned that he preferred frankness to tiptoeing around a subject. Goku wasn't one for subtlety. "She can't ask you to give that up, that's just not fair. But Goku -" she cut off. Just how could she say this best? "Goku, you need to be around more. You're gone for months at a time and that's not fair either."

He turned to look at her then, his face set in that serious frown that she saw so rarely. "I know. I'm trying."

She watched him for a long moment and found her heart aching for this man who was so far outside of anything that could be considered normal but who was expected to live up to those expectations anyway. And somehow, to his wife, the person who should appreciate him the most, it was the things that made him so truly exceptional that were his biggest failings.

Deciding she didn't know what to do to help, and that it wasn't her marriage to be meddling in anyway, she plastered a smile to her face and said "You know, my dad bought Pan even more toys over the weekend. She's been so excited to show you her new favourites. Why don't you go have a look with her and I'll dig us out something to eat."

He grinned at her suggestion and turned excitedly to Pan where she was sat on his shoulder, clearly not put off by the sudden change in conversation.

Videl let their excited chatter fade into the background as they moved away and she started putting away the shopping. She knew she had a soft spot for her father-in-law: he was the reason she and Gohan, or any of them for that matter, were even still alive to have this life. Without him this world - this _universe_ \- would have been destroyed who knew how many years ago. She knew being married to him was hard on Chichi, but couldn't the older woman see just how special, how unique, he was and appreciate him for who he was?

Anybody could have a nine to five job or be educated or wear smart clothes, she thought as she pulled out two tubs of ice cream and grabbed a pair of spoons, but not everyone could save the world.

And certainly not save the world and then just live a simple, humble life without any expectations of anyone. She knew that _all_ too well.

But there was no point in dwelling on it, so instead she settled on the sofa, content to watch the oldest and youngest members of her extraordinary family excitedly dig through the mountain of toys that had become the focal point of her living room and knowing it would only be a matter of minutes until they noticed the ice cream.

This wasn't the life she'd imagined for herself.

No, this was far, far better.

* * *

**CHICHI**

"No Goku san! I told you last time! It's time you were done with all this. You're a grandfather now and it's time you started acting like it and less like a hooligan!"

"Chichi, I've been trying! I've spent lots of time here recently and I haven't trained since I got back. The crops are all harvested…

"Can't I go? Just for a little while?"

She gave him a flat look. "How much more clear do I need to be? No."

Why couldn't he understand this? Could he really not see the example he was setting for Pan? It was too late for Goten: that boy was already used to his father being gone all the time and her only hope for getting him into university and a stable job was his attachment to Trunks.

"Vegeta-"

"I don't _care_ what Vegeta's doing!"

The kitchen fell into a tense silence.

This was the third time in a week that Goku had asked and the third time she had given him an unequivocal no.

They'd been married for over twenty-seven years, though she doubted her husband was aware of that, and he'd spent almost all of that time training. Never mind the nine years he'd been dead and the year he'd taken to come back from Namek. Or the time spent training with King Kai or Whis - even she'd lost count of that though she knew it must be coming close to years.

"Chichi…" his voice was softer this time, more serious perhaps, for all that it had lost its insistence. "I really want to go…"

"You 'really want to', do you? Well what about what I want? What your family wants?" Chichi countered.

"What do you mean?" Oh, this man made her angry sometimes! Could he really not think about anyone else?

"What do you think I mean, Goku san?" She wasn't going to give him the answer, not this time.

"Well," he started, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, "me and Piccolo harvested all the crops, and I took 'em all to the market..." He trailed off and she waited for him to continue. Was that all he thought this was about? When he didn't go on she quirked an eyebrow.

"I, er... I've been to see Pan every week..." He fell silent once more.

"Chichi, I really want to go train." Of course he circled back around to that eventually. He always did. And every time it made her see red.

"You agreed last time that that would be the last time!"

"You, er... You didn't give me much choice." Came his mumbled response.

Was that what he thought? Fine. He could have a choice if that was what he wanted!

"You want a choice, Son Goku?" She barely kept her voice controlled but he seemed not to notice as he simply nodded. "Are you sure? You really want me to give you a choice?" She didn't raise her voice. Not this time.

He waited quietly, his face finally serious.

"Fine. Here it is: your training or this family." Kami, how she hated those words, but they'd been bouncing around in her head for far too long for her not to voice them.

Goku stayed silent, arms loose at his sides but his face in a soft frown.

He understood.

It was time for him to choose his family and stop all this nonsense.

"Are you serious?" From anyone else it would have been an outraged or disbelieving challenge, but not from him. Not now. It was just a question.

He was testing her resolve and she wasn't going to give in, so instead of answering him she stayed silent, refusing to look away, even as the seconds dragged on.

Did her heart always beat this loud?

She couldn't believe it was taking him this long to answer. It wasn't a hard question. All he had to do was give up his ridiculous hobby!

The seconds became minutes and still neither of them looked away. Chichi felt like she was about to choke on the words building in her throat but held them in, determined to let him come to his own answer. He wasn't so stupid, nor so resistant to the idea of working, that he'd leave the security and love of his family and his life here just to continue his training.

Admittedly, it seemed she'd underestimated just how much that training meant to him, judging by how long this was taking him, but he'd be okay. He'd find a more respectable interest – perhaps she could get him reading?

"Okay," he finally said, face serious and determined. She barely held in a sigh as a small smile spread on her face. "You're right, Chichi." Now wasn't the time to say anything – that would come later, so for now she settled on turning back to the counter, trying to remember just what she'd been about to do before all this started.

"I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to go."

Chichi spun back around, feeling the horror of those words sinking in. What was he saying? He couldn't be serious!

But there he was, his face as serious as she had ever seen it, no hint of hesitation anywhere to be seen.

Chichi felt herself gaping and quickly pulled herself back under control. Of course he wasn't going to leave, he was just calling her bluff.

"What are you talking about?"

He didn't even flinch and she felt the ground falling away from under her.

"I'm sorry Chichi. I've tried giving it all up. I've tried doing what you're asking me. But I can't."

"Goku san!"

And then he was raising his fingers to his head in that damn pose and...

And he was gone.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it, he's made a decision. Where's he going to go first? What's going to be his reaction? What'll happen next? Fell free to guess! If you get it right and I can find the time I might even write you a little something!

Also, Guest who keeps leaving me epically long anonymous reviews, stop it! I need to know who you are because I reckon we could chat for hours XD At least leave me a user name! I'm begging you!


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

* * *

**GOKU**

As the world flashed into focus around him, Goku took a moment to absorb what had just happened.

Despite his speed in a fight, a part of him was reeling from the decision he'd made.

For months he'd been trying to do as Chichi had asked: he'd given up the training, he'd spent more time with his family and tending his crops, he'd run more errands and tried his best to keep her happy. But all along he'd felt a bone deep weariness in his body – that kind of idleness just felt wrong to him. It had been as if every inch of him was itching restlessly. Everything had ached and his mind – usually so calm and centred, if a bit flighty from an outside perspective – had been as chaotic and as restless as the rest of him.

She'd allowed him to sleep inside more times in the last few months than she had in all the years since he'd been revived the last time, and yet he'd slept less than ever, constantly kept awake by the restlessness in his mind and body.

Never mind that none of it ever seemed to be enough for her.

But this wasn't a good feeling right now.

"Ooh ooh ooh, ooh-oooh?"

"Hey Bubbles..." Goku turned to the approaching monkey. This had been the first place he'd thought of when he'd realised that leaving really was the only option left. True, he'd spent more time on the Grand Kai's planet than he had here, but this was always the first place he thought of going whenever he wanted to get away from it all and train. Perhaps intentionally he'd appeared on the opposite side of the tiny planet to the small house where his long-time mentor lived. He hadn't really given it much thought. He'd simply reacted once his decision was made.

"Ooh ooh?" Goku had never learned to understand Bubbles, but the chimp was looking at him quizzically and he really didn't know what to say.

"How's it going, Bubbles?"

At his non-answer Bubbles raced off in the direction of the house and, with a small sigh, Goku followed.

"Goku?!" King Kai's nasal voice was familiar after all these years but hearing it made Goku realise just how long it had actually been since he'd last spoken to the small Kaio. "I was wondering how long it'd be until you were back."

"Hey King Kai, how's it going?"

"Oh, you know, peaceful." The blue man put added emphasis on the last word.

"Oh, don't be like that King Kai!" Goku protested laughingly, though the other man did have a point.

"I thought you'd forgotten me, now that you've got Lord Beerus and Whis to train you."

Goku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "You know that's not true, King Kai!"

King Kai sniffed skeptically.

"And I suppose you want to train again? You'd better not destroy my house this time! Or my car!"

He laughed awkwardly, "Thanks King Kai!" 

* * *

Everything hurt and Goku honestly couldn't decide if it was a good feeling or not. Just a few months without training had left him this out of shape but it felt good to be working out again.

Even as he lay sprawled on the ground, looking at the purple sky surrounding the tiny planet, completely exhausted, he felt better than he had in months.

"Say, Goku..." King Kai's voice drifted out of the window from where he was washing up the latest batch of plates, "How long are you planning on staying this time?"

"Just a couple more days, then I'm going to go train with Vegeta at Beerus' place."

"Well, why did you have to come here first? Do you know how hard it is to feed a saiyan?" His voice was irritated but they both knew he enjoyed the company – as long as it was occasional.

"But where else was I going to go? You saw how out of shape I was!"

"So you should have trained at home then, shouldn't you?" King Kai's retort was distinctly grumpy.

Goku kept quiet. In the days he'd been here he hadn't said anything about what had happened between him and Chichi. King Kai was the first person he'd ask for training advice or for intergalactic news, even a good (or bad) one-liner, but he didn't think the blue kaio was any more clued up on relationships than he was. And there was nothing to be done now. He'd made his decision.

Now he just had to live with it. 

* * *

**BULMA**

"Goku!"

The spiky haired man, well, one of the two, turned in her direction having appeared just moments before, a clueless but curious expression on his face as he met her glare.

"Hey Bulma."

"Don't you 'Hey Bulma' me! I heard what happened!" This man was just beyond belief, playing innocent like that.

Beside him Vegeta pretended not to listen but she knew him well enough to know he was faking. He'd been irritated enough at how long she'd spent on the phone a couple of weeks ago, and intelligent enough to put two and two together.

"'What happened'? What do you mean?" Goku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly – another saiyan who couldn't lie worth a damn.

She took a deep breath. Shouting at him wasn't going to work – not when Whis was already here and had already finished eating: they could leave at a moment's notice. She'd have to tread at least a little carefully.

"When – exactly – are you planning on going home?" She asked instead of throwing accusations at him.

So fast she almost missed it, Goku shot a pleading glance at Vegeta who was now watching with a raised eyebrow. Unless he'd heard elsewhere (which she doubted) this was the first he was hearing about this. She'd intentionally left him in the dark so that Goku wouldn't have any warning that this conversation was coming. Sometimes she didn't know if Vegeta would throw Goku under the figurative bus, or take his side.

But where she expected another sheepish grin from her oldest friend, she instead saw his expression drop, his hand still on his nape but still, now. Gone was the usual nervous energy.

"I don't think I will be."

Had she been anyone else she might have gaped as she processed his words, but she wasn't anyone else: she was Bulma Briefs, a top notch genius. Even so, his words were nigh on incomprehensible. "You have a family Goku! You can't just leave them!"

"Bulma..." He sighed, sounding tired and resigned. But not uncertain. His eyes met hers and held the contact. "I don't want to leave them. But I can't carry on like I was. Neither of us was happy... maybe we hadn't been for a long time. I don't want to leave but this feels like the right thing to do."

Now she did gape. In all the years she'd known Goku she'd become used to him coming out with naïve statements and asking clueless questions. There was no one – not even her husband – whom she'd rather have around if there was a threat, and the shift in his personality in those times was immense. But this? This was a side of him she'd rarely seen. Never outside of a fight.

Goku was kind and generous: willing to do anything for anyone. But empathy wasn't a trait she'd ever associated with him. And for all that what he said didn't seem empathetic at first glance, he actually was thinking about Chichi's happiness too. Not that that meant she was going to stop fighting her friend's corner.

"Don't be ridiculous Goku, go back home! You certainly never seemed unhappy." Goku was one of the simplest people she'd ever met. If he had food and fights, or training, he was happy. It was something she'd envied at various times in her life – what would it be like to be that happy? And what did it mean that he genuinely felt that both he and Chichi had been unhappy?

If he was actually saying it she didn't doubt it. Not that she was all that sure that Chichi would agree with him, but Goku was honest to a fault.

"Tch!" Vegeta scoffed from beside his rival. Great, she just needed his input on this. "So you finally left the harpy? Took long enough! Now you can finally get back to training – you're getting weak!"

'Back to training'? What did that mean? Goku _never_ stopped training.

Goku dropped into a stretch, his focus entirely shifted to Vegeta and the upcoming training, "Yeah, you're right! These last few days at King Kai's have helped but right now I couldn't beat anyone!" His jovial nature was back.

Had Chichi really stopped him _training_? She'd spoken about doing so for years but Bulma hadn't ever really thought the other woman would actually do it, and Chichi hadn't mentioned it when they'd spoken. If there was one thing that would make her oldest friend unhappy, it was that.

Bulma could sympathise with the other woman: Vegeta and his training drove her up the wall. But to stop him training would just drive him away. It had been a simple choice, really: accept him for what he was and build a relationship around that, or accept him as nothing more than the father of her child and an occasional house guest. She'd made that choice and had stuck with it through the years.

Admittedly, Chichi's situation was a little different to hers to say the least. Bulma didn't need Vegeta: she was a wealthy heiress for starters and a brilliant inventor in her own right. She had taken over running Capsule Corporation a few years ago and the business had flourished - not that it had ever been anything less than expansive in the first place. Chichi, on the other hand, had lost all her family's wealth in a fire, and they'd never been all that wealthy for so-called royalty. Chichi had never learned or had a profession, instead expecting Goku to step up and get a job but living off prize money when that didn't work. The money they had received a few years ago was enough to support the family indefinitely but Chichi was Chichi… Chichi depended on Goku to provide for their family, whether he was capable of it or not, whereas Bulma didn't depend on Vegeta for anything, she simply enjoyed having him around.

Many, many years ago, Bulma had had her reservations about Goku marrying Chichi. Her friend, despite having grown into a man physically, had really still been just a child and had still had a lot to learn about the world. Goku had had, and still did have, a very strong sense of right and wrong and had believed very strongly in not hurting people, especially girls. As such, when Chichi had appeared at the tournament, despite not knowing her face from the next, Goku had kept his promise to marry the young woman. It hadn't mattered to him that he'd agreed all those years before without knowing what the word 'marry' meant, it only mattered that he had hurt someone's feelings and it was within his power to right that wrong.

To Bulma that had seemed like the worst possible reason to get married and she'd been somewhat disturbed by Chichi not only agreeing, but wanting to go ahead with the marriage, despite seeing that her future husband really didn't have the slightest idea of what he was getting into and clearly not having any feelings for her, to the point of trying to pull away from any physical contact she made.

After their wedding, to which she and Goku's other friends hadn't been invited, Bulma hadn't seen her friend for over five years. Neither had anyone else.

It wasn't unlike Goku to disappear off on adventures for months at a time and she'd had no doubt he could look after himself, but she'd worried all the same.

She'd almost fainted when he'd arrived that day at Kame House with a child.

But their marriage had lasted the intervening years and Chichi had become a friend. Her younger self would have been glad to hear that Goku had left Chichi, but her present self was surprised and unsure what to think.

Time to let the subject go and gather more information for the next time. 

* * *

**Goku**

"It sure is good to be back!" Goku exclaimed as they stopped on a branch of the enormous tree that made up a substantial part of Beerus' unusual planet.

"We'll get straight to training once I've taken Lord Beerus his bento." Whis said in his typically serene manner.

Vegeta, as usual, stayed quiet but Goku fell into a series of stretches, already anticipating the upcoming training. He needed this.

"Oh," Whis paused before entering the interior of the tree, looking over his shoulder and turning just slightly. "We'll be having guests tomorrow. After you complete your training, please prepare the room next to yours. I've already added an extra bed to your roomthat will need to be made."

"Guests?" Vegeta questioned, but Whis was already moving off and made no move to explain further.

Goku scratched at the side of his mouth in thought. "I wonder who it's going to be..." He paused, mulling it over, then, "Do you think they'll be really strong?"

He saw as Vegeta rolled his eyes and wondered why he did it. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy fighting strong opponents too.

"Why are you asking me who it is? I don't know any more than you do." The Prince snapped, "Whis had better not be expecting us to act as maids while they entertain some 'guest'."

Goku thought for a moment. "Why do you think there's another bed in our room? Why wouldn't that person stay in the room next door, with the others?"

Vegeta turned his back at that, probably displeased with himself for not having thought of it first. "We'll probably find out over dinner." He said instead of answering. 

* * *

**Vegeta**

The afternoon's training had passed in a satisfactory manner. It was clear that Kakarot hadn't trained recently but the clown's skills hadn't fallen to the point where he would hinder Vegeta's training. He might not want to admit it but the other man was skilled enough that even years of not training would be unlikely to dull his fighting sense, only his strength.

Dinner, yet another strange assortment of foods from some alien planet, was coming to an end and he was feeling comfortably full. The same could seemingly be said for the others, too. Kakarot was sat patting his stomach, Beerus was contentedly looking up at the ceiling and Whis was finishing the final spoonful of food, a delighted smile on his face.

"So, er Whis san," Kakarot started, "Who are these guests?"

"Guests?!" Beerus demanded, sitting up and looking at his angel.

"Yes, Lord Beerus sama." Whis replied cordially. "We agreed several weeks ago that it would be beneficial if Vegeta san and Goku san had fighters aside from each other to train with. Since my sister suggested the same thing, we agreed that Champa sama would send a few of his fighters here for a couple of weeks."

This was interesting news and Vegeta could see the clown perking up at the words.

"Who's it going to be?" He asked, excitedly.

Whis tilted his head to the side in thought. "I'm not sure. My sister informed me this morning that Cabba would be coming, with a possibility of two others."

Vegeta groaned internally. He didn't have the time or patience to deal with the young soldier. How the whole 'master' business had gotten so stuck in the smaller man's head in the first place, he really wasn't sure, but he really didn't care for it.

"Cabba, huh?" Kakarot mused. "So maybe the other two are those saiyan girls..."

Just what they needed: that crybaby and her keeper.

"As long as they stay out of my way, I don't care." He growled irritably.

"I thought you might feel that way, Vegeta san but that won't be the case. While you and Goku complement each other's styles well you are too familiar with one another. That familiarity certainly has advantages but you also need to train with others."

"Why are we helping them get stronger?"

"Despite the competitions we have organised in the past, Universe Seven and Universe Six are twinned and aren't, in fact, rivals. This training will be beneficial for all parties.

"In addition, both of you have reached a point in your training and abilities where it would be of use to you to mentor others. You might be surprised by how much you learn by teaching. So I'm afraid your training will, at least in part, involve helping Champa sama's fighters improve, rather than simply beating them."

Vegeta didn't like the sound of that. As if teaching Cabba wasn't bad enough, now he'd be stuck with the other two, too? Finding that Whis was still watching him, Vegeta schooled his expression and bit back any argument. He still needed Whis' training.

* * *

A/N: Thank you again for reading and I really hope you're enjoying the story!

Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, I've been ill and then my mother turned up unannounced for a ten day visit. I'll try my best to get more up this weekend if I can manage it!


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

**GOKU**

"So now they're telling us 'we're not rivals,'" Vegeta snarled as they entered their room. "Well that's just great! And will somebody kindly tell me what will happen the next time that lunatic gets it in his head to hold a tournament? How will we win _then_, when we've spent all our time _training _another universe's fighters?"

Goku let the other man vent. He'd gotten used to Vegeta's temper years ago and knew the best tactic was to let him complain without interruption. Vegeta didn't even care if Goku was listening as he angrily removed first his gloves, then his armour.

"They're not even worth our time!" Vegeta went on, "There were much stronger fighters in the tournament than them!"

Goku settled on his bed, clothes discarded next to his boots, and wondered who it was that Vegeta was trying to convince.

"Aw, come on Vegeta," Goku eventually cut in, "They were fun to fight!" He sat up on his bed, ignoring the disgruntled look on Vegeta's face. "The first tournament was _great_! And even though they weren't the strongest in the Tournament of Power, those girls were really fun and they had other good fighters too."

"The tournament wasn't _about _fun, Kakarot," Vegeta snapped, rounding on him, "It was _about _surviving!"

Goku let Vegeta's anger wash over him, unfazed. Vegeta was only saying now what he couldn't say in front of Whis.

"And we did!" Goku reminded him. "And just think of how much universe six' fighters will 've improved!" Goku was excited just at the thought. Yes, fighting Jiren again would be fun, too, but so would fighting the saiyans from universe six. And Hit.

"You train them then! I don't need the distraction." Vegeta retorted, turning his back in a clear sign the conversation was over.

Goku didn't mind. He was far too excited at the thought of having more people to train with, long used to Vegeta's temper and tired enough that he was out as soon as his head touched his pillow.

* * *

**CAULIFLA**

Gods, that box was a bore! Perhaps she should have been more impressed by the fact that she'd just travelled to another universe, but that box was nothing but dull and there was nowhere to sit but the floor. Surely something a little more comfortable wasn't unreasonable? She'd seen the tricks Vados could pull off with that staff of hers after all.

Stepping out into fresh air at last, she couldn't help the burst of excitement she felt at seeing the two tall saiyans again.

It had been almost a year since the tournament and, despite the training they'd been receiving, she hadn't been able to shake the longing for another fight like those they'd had in the tournament. She practically itched to get started.

It didn't matter that they'd only be sparring, nor that she knew she wasn't a match for them, she needed to feel that thrill again.

Vegeta scowled at the three of them, barely acknowledging Cabba's bow, but Son Goku grinned at them happily and waved.

"Vegeta san, Goku san, please show our guests to their rooms." Whis directed before turning back to her group. "You'll have some time to settle in while Vegeta san and Goku san finish their chores. They'll be back to collect you in half an hour for lunch, after which we will begin training." Whis inclined his head as he finished, then turned and left with Vados, falling into quiet conversation.

"I bet you all need to pee!" Son Goku started cheerfully as they headed in the same direction Whis had gone. "I always do when I get here…"

She tuned him out as he continued, aware of Kale walking uncomfortably beside her. "It's definitely different, isn't it?" Caulifla murmured, linking her arm with Kale's.

"Huh?" Kale asked, a little startled.

"The tree." She elaborated, gesturing to their surroundings and the overbearingly large tree before them. .

"Yeah…" Kale answered musingly," What do you think that's all about?"

"No idea…" Caulifla admitted.

A few steps ahead of them, Goku looked back at them. "Isn't Champa's planet like this?"

Kale shook her head. "It's completely different." She whispered.

"Huh!" Goku scratched the back of his head, looking thoughtful. "I wonder why…"

"Maybe it's to do with their personality!" Caulifla laughed. "Champa's the spoiled fat housecat and Beerus is the scrawny feral cat. They definitely look the parts." Maybe the laughter was more for Kale's sake than because she found the statement particularly funny, or maybe it was the nervous excitement coursing through her, but Champa definitely deserved to be laughed at.

"Caulifla san!" Cabba exclaimed, "You mustn't say things like that where Beerus sama might hear you!"

Maybe he had a point there but the look on his face only made her laugh more. "Oh relax!" She told him, rolling her eyes.

The interior of the tree, when they reached it, was as bizarrely breathtaking as the outside: an enormous staircase spiralled around a central cavity, the open side lined with sprouting lilac crystals, the upper and lower reaches of the staircase fading away into darkness. Hallway after hallway branched off the staircase, each lined by countless doors.

"Where is everyone?" Caulifla asked at last, wonder clear in her voice.

"It's just us."

She nearly tripped at those three words, lurching to a stop and gaping up into the darkness in awe.

"There's _nobody else here_?" She demanded, her eyes back on the large man. It seemed impossible.

"Just us, Beerus, the Oracle and Whis." Goku nodded.

"But it's enormous!" Kale exclaimed, clearly just as shocked.

"It is pretty big, I guess." Goku agreed, then looked to Vegeta who was clearly getting impatient at the delay. "You'll get used to it. Come on, let's go! The sooner we finish the sooner we can eat!"

Caulifla gaped after him a moment, still stuck trying to process the fact that this entire tree - the size of a city - was uninhabited, and that fact that Goku was just so blasé about it. Then she pulled herself together, forcing herself and Kale into motion once more and continued the trek up the stairs.

* * *

**CABBA**

Cabba had spent years travelling around the galaxy, staying in various barracks on strange planets and ships alike, but this? This was by far the strangest yet.

He'd been given a bed in the same room as Goku san and Vegeta shishō. It wasn't unusual for him after all these years in the military to be sharing a room, but he suspected that Goku and Vegeta's… relationship, whether that be friendship, rivalry or even familial, was an old thing and he wondered just how he was going to fit into the dynamic, especially since his bed was smack-bang between theirs.

He didn't really want to admit it but he couldn't deny how daunted he felt at what loomed ahead of him. He had no doubt that this training would be intense: Vegeta shishō didn't seem like a man who did anything easy. Ever. And he himself had seen Goku san's ability to push beyond his limits and how excited he got at the prospect of a challenge. Cabba refused to let his shishō down, but he wasn't sure he was up to the same kind of trials these two men endured. He worried he would make a fool of himself.

And strangely, he worried for Kale, too.

He had no doubt in his mind that Caulifla would take care of her protégé, but he'd seen how tenuous Kale's self control was. Whatever her story was - and he was certain that there _was _one - Kale had issues.

They'd been training together regularly over the last several months and Cabba had learnt just how easily Kale could be pushed to breaking point. Physically, she could handle the training, but emotionally… Well, that was a different case some days.

And Cabba wasn't as fierce as Caulifla, but he _had_ become an Elite to protect people. That included people like Kale. He didn't want to live with the guilt of knowing that his actions had drawn her into something that was beyond her capacity to handle.

Deciding that fretting alone in his room would get him nowhere, but also not feeling confident in his ability to navigate the behemoth tree, Cabba left the room and knocked on the next door along.

He only had to wait a short moment before the door opened, Kale stood nervously on the other side.

He had to bite down on a smile as he saw further into the room. In contrast to the impersonal room next door, the two women already had music playing from a small speaker, their small packs already emptied and things scattered around the room from tablets to makeup to stacks of clothes waiting to be put away. It looked far more welcoming than the other room where the only "personalisation" was the space between the beds and the spare set of clothes each of the men had stored in the small wardrobe.

"Am I intruding?" He asked Kale.

The grey eyed girl shook her head but looked uncomfortable. After several months of regular training with the young woman he was used to her nervousness and knew her discomfort wasn't necessarily a sign he was unwelcome, but he still didn't quite know how to react to it.

"Are you looking forward to training this afternoon?" He inquired, hoping to draw her into conversation.

"Ano…" she hesitated, looking down at her fingers as she fretted.

"Sure she is!" Caulifla cheered, clapping Kale on the back as she came up beside her.

Cabba wasn't so sure, but he didn't feel like risking an argument with the lively woman. To his surprise, Kale elbowed Caulifla and pinned her with a sidewards look, a small smile on her lips. Caulifla just grinned back at her and Cabba had to remind himself that, no matter how imbalanced their relationship appeared, the two of them were firm friends. More than friends perhaps.

Cabba was ripped from his thoughts by a bark of noise. "Are we going, or do you need more time for your mother's meeting?"

Cabba startled at the sharp sound of Vegeta shishō's voice, going slightly rigid in response, spine straight.

The older man was stood at the end of the hallway but made no move to approach any closer.

Cabba gave a quick bow but he hadn't missed the scowl on Caulifla's face at being spoken to like that. He just hoped she wouldn't say anything. They didn't need a fight breaking out before they'd even started training.

The way to the dining room was simple enough, but Cabba was sure he wouldn't be able to find his way back to their rooms without help: he'd simply lost count of how many times they'd rounded the gargantuan staircase and most of the floors looked the same.

This room was different though: the outer wall was rounded and filled with windows. Windows that looked out into the lake. It reminded him of a cat looking into an aquarium but in reverse.

In the centre of the room was a large table, veritably laden with food. He was relieved to see that most of the food was familiar, either from his visit to Earth or from home. He enjoyed trying new foods but he had a feeling it would be easy to get overwhelmed staying in a new universe.

That thought brought a wave of unease: nothing about these next weeks or months would be easy. But he'd faced everything up until now with a cool professionalism, he'd do the same now, too.

* * *

**CAULIFLA **

"I'm going to die…"

She knew it.

It was simple fact. No point getting upset about it.

Caulifla wasn't even sure she'd had enough breath or energy for even Cabba to hear her, and he was barely two steps away.

The months training with Vados paled in comparison to this.

Vados' training had consisted predominantly of teaching her and Kale form. Neither of them had ever had any kind of formal training, something Vados claimed had worked against them in the tournament and put them approximately thirty-plus years behind their universe seven counterparts. Even Cabba had received several years of training in the military. Caulifla's only experience came from brawling: something she'd done plenty of. Kale had even less experience than that.

That meant that the last year had been spent cramming in as much training as possible. Countless different forms and styles so that they at least had a base upon which to build. There hadn't been time for anything else.

Now, Whis had them carrying blocks around the perimeter of the planet.

When Caulifla had seen the block she'd naively assumed that it wouldn't be too terrible. The position in which they'd have to carry it looked challenging, but the block itself was small and wouldn't be too heavy.

Oh, she'd been wrong.

Whis had explained that each block's weight was tailored to their own strength; that theirs were smaller to match their stature, but that that didn't affect the weight; that indeed, each of them had a different weight, though he hadn't specified who had what.

Whis had also explained that for the first three days, there was no time limit to the task, but that after that grace period, the time limit would be very tight indeed, so they should do their best to keep moving at all times.

That had elicited a grumble of complaint from Goku.

"No fair, Whis san! You nearly let the ground disappear from under me, my first day. And that was _after_ doing chores!"

"Yes, indeed, Goku san." Whis replied with a nod. "But what's unfair is that for that comment you will have to go twice as fast as normal, today."

"What?!" Goku whined, gaping at the Angel while Vegeta laughed in that cruel way of his. "Come on Whis san, you don't mean that!"

"I do. And the same applies to Vegeta."

Vegeta's laugh cut off abruptly and he shot a glare at his friend as he hurried into position at his block.

Goku too leapt into action, mirroring the same stance.

Caulifla had shared a slightly apprehensive look with Kale, then moved to do the same.

When Whis had given the command to begin, she'd waited momentarily to watch Goku and Vegeta since both of them had more experience, and was confused to see the strained looks on their faces as they moved off at a slow shuffle, clearly struggling to lift the blocks. Bracing herself, Caulifla had tried to lift her own block. Only to find that she couldn't.

She'd looked sideways to see Kale and Cabba had also both failed to so much as lift their blocks. But as she'd watched, Cabba had taken a deep breath, bracing himself once more, and had lifted the block, a strained groan escaping him. By the time he'd taken just a single step, sweat was begging to break out on his forehead and he was trembling with the strain.

Not one to let herself be outdone and not wanting to watch long enough for the looming sense of dread to settle in, she'd braced herself for another go.

Finally, on her third attempt she'd managed to lift the block, just moments after Kale had succeeded in lifting her own.

Together they'd started their staggering lap of the planet.

At first, she'd paced herself to stay with Kale. Her protégé had incredible strength but struggled with stamina, and this task was definitely a matter of endurance. Now, halfway to the first corner, she was struggling for each and every step, convinced that _this time_, she'd collapse; _this time _her racing heart would just give out.

She could hear Kale's loud breathing not far behind her and, had she the energy to turn her head, she was sure she'd see a look of purest strain on Cabba's face where he struggled on. He was abreast with her now, just a couple of steps to her left.

Goku and Vegeta were long out of sight.

'What am I doing here?' She asked herself. This was _way _beyond anything she was capable of.

They'd started half way along this side, now she was half-way to the corner. One sixteenth. _One sixteenth. _That's all she'd done, and she already felt like she was at her limit.

'Don't. Think. About. It.' She told herself. 'Just one more step. One more. Now another. Another. Another.'

And so, she made her slow, agonising way forward.

* * *

**Caulifla **

Caulifla felt like she was hallucinating when a pair of shoes appeared in her line of sight. Confused, she looked up, her vision swimming and her thoughts fuzzy.

There was a man in front of her.

A blue man.

Her mind couldn't comprehend what she was seeing, too focused on keeping going, one step after another.

The man tapped a stick on the ground and Caulifla stumbled, then fell backwards onto the ground.

The weight was gone.

How-

She blinked up at the man, dazed, and heaved in breath after breath. She tried to make sense of what was going on and failed until she saw a person stagger into view beside her.

Kale, her mind supplied. That was Kale.

Whis tapped his staff once more, Caulifla's mind now beginning to fill in the blanks from moments before, and Kale's weight also vanished. Kale fell to her knees, her breathing ragged, and Caulifla took in the state of her friend's arms.

Angry red bands outlined where the edge of the long cuffs had been and her fingers were an unhealthy shade of purple. Caulifla looked down to see that her arms had fared no better. Then she looked up, taking in her surroundings for the first time.

To Caulifla's left, Cabba was collapsed against a tree, drinking - or rather spilling - water from a cannister held by a trembling arm. His face was flushed and he gasped for breaths between each gulp. Caulifla wanted to be angry that he'd beaten her, but she didn't have the energy left for that.

A few meters further along than Cabba, Goku and Vegeta were doing press ups, their weights now on their backs. Both were sweating but neither of them looked fazed by the lap they'd done, and Goku was chatting happily in spite of both the intensity of the workout and Vegeta's palpable lack of interest.

"We-" Caulifla croaked between gasps, "we have to-" she cut off again. She couldn't even form the words: she didn't have the breath to speak them nor the energy to complete even one press up with that weight on her back, and voicing it just felt like signing her own death warrant.

Luckily Whis answered without forcing her to elaborate further. "No Caulifla san. You may both have a moment to rest, then all three of you are to run five laps, this time without the weight. When you return you will all be continuing your strength training, though I believe I should perhaps reduce the weight. Vegeta san and Goku san still have several thousand repetitions to go, so you have time."

Caulifla felt the world swim around her at the mere thought of all that exercise. Just a single lap had pushed her to a level of exhaustion she'd never known before, and now she was listening to what she'd have to do next. Then she felt even worse as reality fully reasserted itself, her brain finally getting enough oxygen to work fully: this was just the first task of the day, with several more to follow. And this was only the first day of many.

Caulifla had known this would be hard - incredibly hard - but she'd never expected to be pushed to the edge of delirium by the _warm up_! She felt sick. A mixture of exhaustion, shame and horror churning in her stomach.

Caulifla didn't know how she was going to do this, but she _had to_. And somehow she'd have to get Kale through this too.

* * *

**GOKU**

Goku had watched as the three universe six saiyans had shuffled and wobbled their way along the final stretch of the lap and wondered whether Whis was being particularly harsh today or if they really were this unused to training.

Whis had certainly been pushing him and Vegeta during their lap: giving them both heavier blocks than previously and then making them move at almost double speed. And it wasn't as if their training was easy in the first place. But Goku supposed that Whis was actually rather generous in not hurrying the new three, which probably meant that training at this intensity was new to them. He felt a stab of sympathy for them: he remembered his first day's of training with master Roshi and just how tired he'd felt after those first milk runs, then decades later, his first day of training with Whis. This training wasn't just about strength, but stamina. If you'd never done it before then it didn't matter how strong or fit you were, this would push you to your limit.

The only difference between him, Vegeta, and the three universe six fighters, was that both he and Vegeta had been training and fighting at their limits for years: their bodies had learnt to recover faster and to pace themselves,even during such gruelling tasks. It would take the others time to reach the point where they could that hard and then recover quickly enough to move on to the next task.

"Tch!" Vegeta scoffed beside him, and Goku turned to glance at his friend before continuing his push-ups. "Whis is going easy on them. They're no challenge at all if this is the best they can do."

"Yeah…" Goku conceded, closing his eyes as a drop of sweat ran down his face, "but he took it easy on me my first day, too."

"That just proves my point," Vegeta insisted sullenly, "You're no challenge either."

Goku chuckled to himself at Vegeta's protests. All it would take to make Vegeta blow a fuse would be to remind him which of them had won the tournament, and Goku would be sure to do just that later on while they were sparring. No point in wasting such great material now. "You've gotta admit: they did well just to finish."

"Hmph." Vegeta either didn't agree or couldn't argue with that.

"If you two have got the energy to talk, perhaps you should be working with heavier weights…" Whis sounded as serene as ever as he strode up to them.

In lieu of answering, both of them shut up and started going faster.

"You may be right, Vegeta," Whis said a couple of minutes later, having stayed in position as he watched the three younger trainees drag themselves up and begin running. "Perhaps they haven't got what it takes to do this training or to give you a challenge. Perhaps they do. Imagine yourself from twenty years ago being dropped into the Tournament with only hours notice and no former training - like Caulifla and Kale - or having had only a year - like Cabba. Could you have achieved as much as they did? Could you have completed that lap this morning, carrying the same weight as your first day here?

"Perhaps they don't have what it takes, but they have earned the right to try." With that, Whis turned and walked away.

* * *

**A/N:** So... I promised I'd try to get this chapter up the same weekend as the last one. That didn't happen. I'm sorry. I swear 2019 is going to be over and I'll have missed it if I just blink too slow! So, in light of that, this is three weeks later than promised and I don't even know how that happened. At this rate the next chapter will be up in October simply because I'll lose track of time.

That aside, a _huge_ thank you to all of you who have favourited or followed this story, it makes me so happy. Reviews even more so! I really hope you're all enjoying it and I really will try harder to get the next chapter up sooner - I have a week off now so maybe I'll get that polished up between all the lesson prep that needs doing. I'll try, at least.


	9. Chapter 9

Have I abandoned this story? No. Have I abandoned any sense of the passage of time? Absolutely. Where's this year gone? Does anyone even know?

As an apology for forgetting about this for so long, this is an extra long chapter and I'll start with a few shortened scenes from previous chapters to help you remember what was going on. Please please please take a moment to answer my question at the end, even if it's just one or two words.

This chapter starts eleven-ish months after the tournament and spans a bit more than a month.

* * *

_Previously… _

"I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to go."

Chichi spun back around. What was he saying? He couldn't be serious!

But his face was as serious as she had ever seen it, no hint of hesitation anywhere to be seen.

Chichi felt herself gaping and quickly pulled herself back under control. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry Chichi. I've tried. I've tried doing what you're asking me. But I can't."

"Goku san!"

And then he was raising his fingers to his head and he was gone.

For months he'd been trying to do as Chichi had asked, but all along he'd felt a bone deep weariness. It had been as if every inch of him was itching restlessly. Everything had ached and his mind had been as chaotic and as restless as the rest of him.

She'd allowed him to sleep inside more times in the last few months than she had in all the years since he'd been revived the last time, and yet he'd slept less than ever, constantly kept awake by the restlessness in his mind and body.

Never mind that none of it ever seemed to be enough for her.

But this wasn't a good feeling right now

"I'm going to die…" Caulifla knew it.

It was simple fact. No point getting upset about it.

Caulifla wasn't even sure she'd had enough breath for even Cabba to hear her, barely two steps away.

The months training with Vados paled in comparison to this.

"You may be right, Vegeta," Whis said a couple of minutes later, "Perhaps they haven't got what it takes to do this training or to give you a challenge. Perhaps they do. Imagine yourself from twenty years ago being dropped into the Tournament like they were. Could you have achieved as much as they did? Could you have completed that lap this morning? Perhaps they don't have what it takes, but they have earned the right to try."

* * *

_Chapter 9_

**GOKU**

Goku had long since stopped asking what exactly he was being served for dinner. Aside from a handful of dishes that had been too bizarre even for him, the vast majority were delicious - even if they didn't always look it.

Caulifla wasn't quite at that point yet. Apparently two weeks here wasn't enough to make tonight's meal look appetising, even after the strain of the day's training.

"What, exactly, is this?" She held up her fork, the strange blue, noodle-like thing dangling from it in a way even he had to admit was off-putting.

Kale had only gotten as far as stabbing her fork into her own meal before turning to her friend for reassurance, and now she watched intently.

"It's a sea plant considered to be a delicacy on planet Gorach. It's spiced in their traditional manner to have a delicate and fragrant flavour to accompany the richer flavours of the meat." Whis replied from the other side of the table.

"It's slimy." Caulifla deadpanned.

"Itsh 'eally good!" Goku asserted, looking to the small woman beside him.

"So good," she levelled a withering look at him, "that you couldn't even swallow it before speaking."

"Sho good," he answered around another mouthful of the strange food, "that I cou'n' stop ea'ing 'o anshwer you."

She rolled her eyes at him in disgust and he took a swig of his drink as she turned back to the plate and poked at the offending plant once more.

"It really isn't as bad as it looks." He said, mouth empty now.

Caulifla gave him a second withering, sidelong look, clearly unconvinced.

"It's not the flavour I'm worried about… it looks like snot," she said. Kale nodded enthusiastically at her complaint and he couldn't deny that they had a point. He'd had the same issue upon first arriving here, despite his love of food - some of the dishes Whis served up looked truly revolting. It had taken him a while to gain enough trust in Whis' culinary judgement to not hesitate before trying something.

"Whis really knows his food! Just try it!" He encouraged again.

She looked at him dubiously, then looked toward Vegeta, Whis and Beerus, who were all happily eating.

Cabba was eating the meat but hadn't yet touched the rest of his plate and was watching the conversation carefully, clearly unwilling to lose face in front of Vegeta but no more sure about the blue vegetable than the two women.

"If you're wrong I'll pummel you," Caulifla growled, twirling her fork and hesitating just a moment more before shoving the food into her mouth in a fast movement.

She chewed, grimacing just slightly, but didn't spit it out, so he turned back to his own meal.

He was vaguely aware of her taking another careful forkful and saw Cabba do the same. Kale poked at her food some more but then decided against the vegetable and instead followed Cabba's lead, starting on her meat.

"If you don't want it…" He started, moving his fork toward her plate, knowing exactly what response he was about to get.

Caulifla didn't disappoint, her fork held poised over his hand in a clear threat as her eyes held his. He'd known a lot of people who could give sharp looks but he wondered, not for the first time, if she might be in a league of her own.

She held his gaze until he carefully moved his hand away, then turned back to her own plate and began eating far less hesitantly.

Pilfering food off her plate had become a daily thing and she was as likely to allow it as she was to retaliate. Sometimes she'd simply let him take what he wanted, then calmly take it back, other times she'd kick or stab him for merely attempting it. It all depended on how much she liked something and whether or not she was talking to someone.

But attempting to steal her food almost always made her more determined to eat whatever was in front of her, regardless of what it looked like, and he'd been counting on that to work tonight. Turns out he was right.

* * *

**CAULIFLA **

She really didn't know if she had it in her to make it out of bed.

Three weeks of training and Caulifla was wrecked.

She didn't really even know if what they were doing could even be classed as training under Interplanetary Sapient Life Protection Guidelines, or if it had just gone ahead and slipped well and truly into the section that outlined Torture: Most Severe.

All she knew was that she hurt. She hurt so much she'd barely slept since she'd gotten here, waking up every time she so much as twitched, let alone rolled over.

This was becoming a daily struggle and, for all she thought it impossible each time, it was getting worse by the day.

She was starting to improve, she knew that much, but it was all just _so much, _and far worse than she'd ever been through before.

With an effort she forced herself to sit up in bed and swing her legs over the side. Then she stayed there, elbows on her knees, head in her hands, bracing herself for the energy and motivation it would take to get up and dressed.

"Gods, I need caffeine…" she grumbled to herself.

"Please tell me there's coffee!" Kale begged, flipping the duvet away from her face to let herself be heard.

"Coffee…" Caulifla parroted, forcing herself to her feet and shuffling towards the door in a way she was sure would get her an on-the-spot casting to one of those zombie-survival series. She probably wouldn't even need much makeup for the part right now.

Coffee she could manage. And it was her turn today anyway. Breakfast came _after _chores much to her dismay, but Whis had allowed them unlimited access to the kitchen for drinks and snacks after she'd insisted that caffeine was an _essential_ food-group and demonstrated exactly how non-functional she was without it in the mornings.

Apparently neither Goku nor Vegeta had even known where the kitchen was, but she knew that since the announcement that the kitchen was now open for use and well stocked with caffeinated drinks, Vegeta was a regular visitor.

Making the drinks was a quick task, and in no time she was back in their room, handing Kale her mug. Careful to roughly make her bed so that she wouldn't succumb to temptation and collapse back into it and disappear under the covers, Caulifla sat herself on her own bed, drinking and waiting for the caffeine and sugar to kick in and do its thing.

"I wonder what we'll be doing today," Caulifla murmured over the top of her mug, sarcasm clear in her voice.

"Hmm," Kale mused, feigned puzzlement on her face, "I reckon there's a chance, a teensy weensy chance, that there might be some polishing in today's chores." Caulifla watched as Kale flexed her fingers, clearly remembering the ache caused by hours of polishing.

"I say… Gardening duty." They hadn't done it yesterday so it was possible.

This had become a routine over the last week and a half, a small bet that decided which of them would be responsible for coffee the next morning.

Kale grimaced as she heard chatter from the room next door. "If we don't hurry, I _guarantee _we'll be doing extra." The guys always woke up later than them and somehow had the truly envious ability to be awake and alert the moment the alarm sounded. Most mornings Caulifla needed at least twenty minutes to be even partly functional.

"No way!" Caulifla huffed, already having leapt into motion. "There's no way I'm giving Whis an excuse to give us even more work!"

In no time they were receiving their instructions for the morning: mopping the stairs and hallways (on their hands and knees, _naturally_), then cleaning the kitchen, followed by cutting the grass.

Kale and Caulifla were paired together again; Cabba was with Goku - pruning the Tree (capital T Tree, not to be confused with the ordinary trees. You could practically hear the capital in Whis' pronunciation), weeding and sweeping the whole of the outside; and Vegeta was cleaning the living room and bathroom, then making Beerus' bed.

Cutting the grass counted as gardening, right? That meant Kale was on coffee duty tomorrow.

In no time Caulifla had forgotten all about her small victory, instead preoccupied by the aching of her overexerted muscles.

"Done!" Kale cheered, rinsing out her rag under the tap and wiping away a few drops of water.

"Finally," Caulifla grumbled. "I swear I've never cleaned my own kitchen this thoroughly in my life, and this place was cleaner before we started than a surgical suite!"

"Mmhmm!" Kale agreed, leaning back against the counter and letting her head drop back to think against the cupboard behind her. "Talk about busy-work… But I'd rather do this all over again than do the grass." Kale rubbed a hand over her face, then grimaced slightly at the smell of the cleaning products on her hands.

"Ain't gonna argue with that," Caulifla agreed tiredly. "I don't get it though. Why tire us out so much before we even start training?"

She didn't expect Kale to have an answer today any more than she did all the other times Caulifla had asked. She wasn't even really asking, just venting her frustration. She'd agreed to come here and train under Whis, even knowing that it would be tough and that she wouldn't exactly enjoy it, but training with Vados has been different. Vados _had_ warned them that by agreeing to this they'd be submitting themselves to a level of training, discipline and obedience unlike anything that they'd previously faced, but Caulifla had expected that to mean _training, _not _chores _(even if a part of her had been tempted to make a joke about how she _wasn't _agreeing to any kind of BDSM contract, even for training).

Whis could just wave that silly staff of his and have all these things done in the blink of an eye, and judging by the overall cleanliness of the place that's exactly what he did. But _now_ he was _creating _work for them to do! The damn grass was the best example of that! It regrew to a ridiculous height every day, and she wouldn't believe anyone who told her that was natural. The tips didn't even look as if they'd been cut by the next morning - no straight cut marks, just picture perfect grass blades like you'd see in the stock wallpapers on computers.

And it wasn't just the grass! There would be random "stains" around the place. A smear on a crystal, a dried drop of something on the underside edge of the kitchen counters, prints on the windows. And Whis would check daily that they were all gone, showing that he knew exactly where they were!

Caulifla knew he was putting them there on purpose so that he could ensure they were doing a job thoroughly, but it drove her up the wall!

Cleaning windows wasn't going to achieve another level of super saiyan, not unless there was some as yet undiscovered form known as Super Saiyan Ultra Clean.

Pushing off from the counter Kale shrugged, knowing the question to be rhetorical. "I don't know Anee-san, but I _do_ know that the longer it takes us to finish this, the longer it'll be until we can eat breakfast." With that Kale took her by the shoulders, turned her towards the door and pushed her into motion. "And I'm not getting to breakfast just to find that those two have eaten everything again. So: grass."

* * *

**CABBA **

Cabba had learned a lot about himself since he'd first arrived here on Beerus' planet, almost three weeks ago now.

First off he wasn't half a disciplined as he thought he was.

His years in the military had taught him discipline, naturally. He'd learnt to follow strict routines and challenging exercise regimes. He'd learnt to keep his space tidy and ready for inspection at a moment's notice. He'd learnt to follow orders obediently and to acknowledge and respect rank, even if he didn't like or respect the one holding the rank. Chores had been a daily part of his training and he'd certainly done far more unpleasant chores than he was expected to do now.

But Vegeta shishō took it to a whole different level. The expectations Vegeta shishō had of himself were practically perfection, if not downright unobtainable. It was daunting to say the least to have submitted himself to that kind of tutelage.

He'd made his decision, however, and he was going to stick to it no matter what.

Even if having Whis' expectations and tasks piled on top of the already significant burden of Vegeta shishō's was almost crushing.

Today was only the third time he'd been paired with Goku san for morning chores, and the first time he hadn't been utterly exhausted.

Today he was learning about a different kind of discipline.

After Whis had assigned them their tasks, Goku had lingered after the others had left. He'd been eyeing the Tree.

"Say, Whis…" Goku san had said, scratching at his chin in thought, "You really want me to prune _that_?"

"Yes Goku san."

"How comes you've never asked us to do it before?"

"As I'm sure you can imagine, this tree doesn't grow very fast," Whis san had stepped up next to Goku san, a small smile on his face. "If I remember correctly, the last time it was pruned was just a few millennia before Lord Beerus wiped out the majority of the dinosaurs on planet Earth."

Goku san had jumped back in shock, gaping at the angel. "Are you kiddin' me?"

"I assure you I'm not, Goku san." Whis san had remained calm.

Cabba didn't know how long ago that had happened, but the way Whis had so casually spoken about "millennia" had sent a chill down his spine.

"But Whis san," Goku San had burst out, "I don't know anything about pruning trees!"

"I'm aware. However, I understand that you are an exceedingly talented farmer-"

"Of _vegetables_!"

"-and I'm sure that if you apply the same technique that you use in your fields to identify where the Tree is in need of attention, you'll be fine." Whis san had ignored the interruption. His explanation had seemed particularly vague to Cabba, but Goku san had taken on a contemplative expression. A moment later he'd turned to eye up the tree once more, a sceptical expression taking over his face.

"But there's no way I'll get all that done before breakfast!"

It had taken effort but Cabba had managed to keep his expression neutral - it seemed like Goku san really did only think about two things: food and fighting.

"I'm sure if you keep your focus you can finish it within the day, Goku san," Whis had answered, a gleam appearing in his eye. "However, I'm not expecting you to finish before our training concludes. I _do _expect the other tasks to be completed before breakfast, but your main objective is auxiliary to the care of the tree."

"You mastered the Spirit bomb technique decades ago, yet you lost control of it in the Tournament, with near fatal consequences. _I have no doubt,_" Whis san had continued over Goku san's attempt to interject, "that you are fully capable of the technique, but after some consideration I've decided on the following training for you."

Cabba had been totally mistified by the conversation but had attempted to follow along as much as he could.

"This tree is an organism that is different to any other that you've ever encountered. It is older than most of the galaxies in this universe and as such it has tremendous life force. On the other hand it is in a state of near stasis in comparison to the life forms you've encountered in the past."

"Starting today I want you to not only prune the tree, but I also want you to begin teaching Cabba san the foundations of the technique. I'm not certain he would be capable of learning the full technique, but I believe it would provide a good counterpoint to Vegeta's more blunt training. In teaching the technique, I believe you will also be able to recognise where exactly your mistake was during the tournament."

With that, Whis san had left.

Cabba had only understood a tiny fraction of the conversation. Now, the other tasks having been completed, he found himself sat on one of the larger boughs of the tree, attempting to meditate.

Meditation had never been a part of his training or anything he'd ever practiced, but it had never looked difficult.

Turns out, he was wrong.

Beside him, Goku san was eerily still. His only movements those of breathing or the breeze rustling his hair and clothing.

Nothing was left of the usually energetic, cheerful man.

By comparison Cabba, who considered himself quietly reserved and focused, was plagued by what felt like a million different distractions: a small knot of wood digging into his backside uncomfortably, hunger, a slight but niggling need to go to the bathroom, questions about what exactly he was supposed to be thinking about and what did it even mean to think of nothing, a growing suspicion that he was going to fail terribly at this and how angry Vegeta shishō would be at the disappointment. This then opened the floodgates on a lifetime's worth of embarrassing moments.

Surely Goku san wasn't thinking about the time when he'd had to give a show and tell presentation in year four and had successfully tripped over his own feet and landed face first in the carpet, giving himself a bloody nose and getting in trouble for making one of his classmates faint at the sight of all that blood.

Right?

"Sumimasen, Goku san," Cabba eventually broke the silence, then waited for a response.

After just a few moments, Goku opened his eyes and looked at him inquisitively.

"My apologies, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing…" he confessed.

"Oh. Well… Huh." Goku scrunched his face up in confusion. "You know, it's been so long since I learned how to meditate that I'm not really sure how to explain it…"

It wasn't a helpful response but neither was he in trouble.

"Well, I guess… Why don't you tell me what you're having problems with?"

"Okay…" Cabba thought for a moment, trying to find a concise way word his problems and questions. "I don't really… I don't… I've never meditated before, and I don't really know what it means to think of nothing…"

"Well," Goku pursed his lips in thought, looking up without really paying attention to what he was seeing, "It's not really thinking about _nothing_." His speech was slow, his mind clearly focused on the problem at hand.

"Okay!" Goku announced, his eyes snapping back to Cabba's. "It's like this…"

What followed was a series of precise but relaxed instructions. It didn't seem to matter to Goku just how many times Cabba had to restart the exercise. The older man remained patient and supportive, even when Cabba asked questions Goku clearly hadn't ever considered before.

All in all, Cabba spent the last hour and a half of the morning in the most relaxed manner he'd experienced since coming here and found himself with a newfound respect for his master's long-time rival. First appearances aside, Goku was about far more than just brute strength, and Cabba found himself hoping that he'd have the opportunity to learn far more from the man.

* * *

**CAULIFLA**

She _wasn't _staring.

Nope.

Not her.

Not at Son Goku.

Not again.

Well, maybe she was watching him. And that _could_ be mistaken for staring. But it wasn't her fault that there was still so much she could learn by watching him.

Yep. That was what she was doing: learning.

It wasn't doing anything to her at all.

Nope.

Nothing at all.

Caulifla finally pulled her eyes away from the tall man when she noticed Kale slump beside her.

"What's wrong, Kale?"

Her friend only shook her head but didn't look at her. She looked offended.

"Don't be like that, talk to me!" Caulifla pressed.

Kale shook her head and looked pointedly in the other direction, her hunched shoulders stiff. Something had definitely upset her.

Just what had happened? Caulifla couldn't think of anything. They'd been talking, waiting their turn, and-

Ah. Crap.

Kale had been talking to her about something or other and she realised now that she hadn't actually listened to a word of what her friend had said.

They'd started by talking about training but then the conversation had drifted just as the two Universe Seven fighters had started sparring again following an explanation from Whis. She hadn't intended to get so caught up watching them (_them_, not _him_), hadn't even intended to watch at all, but then he'd- _they'd_ started moving and she'd been utterly drawn in.

She hadn't even noticed when Kale had stopped talking.

"I wasn't listening, was I?" As if Kale even needed to answer. Caulifla slumped down too, a near perfect imitation of her friend's pose but for the stiffness. "Sorry, Kale. I didn't mean to."

"I know." Kale's voice was a resigned whisper but her shoulders loosened and her head dropped down so that she was looking at her knees, hands still pinned under her thighs.

"He's such a pain in the arse." Caulifla muttered, shooting a glare at Goku before quickly looking away again.

Kale looked to her, mild shock on her face. "I thought you liked him?"

"He's getting on my nerves." She admitted. "He's so distracting."

Kale watched the two men for a few long seconds and Caulifla did her best not to follow her gaze.

"I think it's just you… I'm not drooling like an idiot over him…" The grey eyed woman mumbled.

"**What**!?" She burst out and her friend pulled back just a little. "I was _not_" she hissed the word, "drooling!"

"Oh, uh-"

_Great. _She could see Kale trying not to smile, could see her literally biting the inside of her lip to keep from doing so.

"I _don't_ like him. Is that clear?" Kale didn't deserve her ire but she couldn't quite keep the bite out of her voice.

"Why not?" Kale asked, sitting back up, still watching the two men. "He _is_ pretty hot."

She raised an eyebrow at her protégé. "I thought I was the 'only one drooling over him'?"

"I'm just saying he's not rough on the eyes. It's not like I'm blind. I thought… I thought you liked watching him?"

"As if! I'm not watching him now, am I?" She retorted and Kale fell silent.

"He watches you too." Kale murmured at last. She was looking at her knees again, contemplative and maybe a little sad.

"I don't care." Caulifla lied.

The look Kale gave her told her that her friend knew she was lying just as well as she herself did, but Kale didn't call her on it.

"Maybe you should…?" Kale suggested softly, "He's a nice guy."

"I don't have time for 'nice'," Caulifla muttered, "I break 'nice'."

"He just looks so breakable, doesn't he?"

Caulifla was about to snap at Kale to drop the subject but cut herself off at the last moment. It had been a long time since Kale had been so bold, and she'd spent so long trying to build her friend back up: she might not want to talk about this but snapping at Kale, or changing the subject, would only batter the young woman's confidence, especially when she could hear the hint of wry humour in her friend's voice.

So instead she eyed the man up. Kale made a good point. 'Breakable' really wasn't a word that could ever be used to describe that man.

Yes, Goku was a nice guy, but he was insanely powerful. And not just physically. The discipline and determination it took to reach his level was immense. Never mind what he put up with from Vegeta every day. The verbal abuse he dealt with was constant but it never seemed to wear him down. He _was_ a nice guy, but he was anything but soft.

"Fine. So that's a crap argument." Caulifla conceded. "But I still don't like him like that."

"Anesan!" Kale protested, "How often do you get a chance like this? He can't keep his eyes off you any more than you can with him! And just look at those muscles."

"This started with you complaining that I was watching him and now you're encouraging me to ogle his muscles." Caulifla deadpanned. "You" she said, pulling up a handful of grass, "need to make up your mind." She threw the grass into her friend's face, softening the reprimand with the silly gesture.

* * *

**GOKU**

Goku had sparred with Vegeta so many times over the years and he still enjoyed it as much now as he had the first time.

Familiarity had lead to them becoming better sparring partners rather than boredom, and he really had no problem spending hours locked in combat with the other saiyan.

But fighting with Caulifla?

It was a thrill.

He'd seen the potential in her at the tournament. The raw power and instinct. She'd lacked training, that much had been clear as soon as he'd seen her form, but with each punch, block or kick she'd improved. Faster than anyone he'd ever known.

Kale, too for that matter. The taller woman clearly didn't quite have her friend's prodigal instinct but she was certainly something special.

And it had been months since that heart pounding day: they'd both improved since then, just as he himself had. The result was a sparring partner the likes of which he'd never dared imagine and whom he struggled to predict.

Where Vegeta enjoyed fighting and training for the sole purpose of improving himself and proving his superiority, Caulifla - like Goku himself - fought for the thrill of the fight.

Improving herself was the goal, but only in order to be able to fight harder, better, longer, the next time. She fought because she enjoyed pitting herself against a strong foe, enjoyed the feel of burning muscles, and fists connecting with flesh.

It made training more chaotic than it was with Vegeta but he found himself itching to finish his chores, to get out of bed, to finish his food. Itching to finish anything that was cutting into the time he could be spending fighting with her.

It didn't matter that she still had so much to learn, so much room for growth before she could really match him. It only mattered that fighting with her was _fun_.

Whis paired them up for at least a couple of hours a day, sometimes more, and in those hours he could remember the thrill of the tournament.

All those years ago, when he and Vegeta had fused, the power of Vegito had been heady and almost incomprehensible. It had seemed as if no amount of training would excel them to that kind of strength. But they'd not only matched that strength in the following years, but surpassed it.

Caulifla was very much on the way to doing the same. She wasn't as strong as Kefla yet, but she was growing in strength and skill every day and Goku was desperate to fight like that once more.

Goku loved fighting her and sometimes following Whis' instructions to stop at the end of the day was far harder than it should have been.

He was glad she was here. Was glad every time that he saw her that she hadn't been erased, even if the memory of it still lingered in the back of his mind.

When it had happened, he'd tried not to give it any thought and, for the duration of the tournament, he'd succeeded. Now, he was surprised to find the thought in his mind, from time to time, that he'd almost lost this opportunity to spar with the lively young saiyan. And it shook him: the realisation that he'd almost missed out on this unsettled him.

* * *

**KALE **

Just what she'd expected in coming here, she really didn't know, but Kale was fast learning a whole new meaning for the word 'exhaustion'.

Her bout finished, she gladly slumped to the ground, her back against a tree, and caught her breath. Cabba, her partner for the last half hour, knelt down beside her, far more prim than her.

She watched him carefully, not entirely comfortable in such close proximity, but he only smiled softly at her and turned to watch as Caulifla and Goku launched into action.

He had been her first partner for the day: now it was her anesan and Goku, then Cabba and Vegeta, her and Caulifla, Vegeta and Goku, and so on, until Whis decided they were done for the day.

She was regularly paired up with Cabba or her anesan for her first match of the day: Caulifla because she always went easy on her, Cabba because he was generally good natured and wasn't overly brutal. Goku made a good partner but the man had no off switch and he was simply too eager to fight. Whis had decided it was better for her to fight him later in the day: that way she could work on her form during her earlier matches and practice what she'd learned with him later. She was rarely paired with Vegeta. He was as bad as Goku - except where Goku was kind and patient, if very over-excitable, Vegeta had no patience for anyone. She'd seen him 'training' Cabba, had seen that first match in Whis' staff when the angel had shown them less than a week after their training had begun, and knew that where the brutal treatment had pushed Cabba to break through his limits, it would only do the opposite to her.

Cabba winced beside her as Caulifla landed a particularly powerful punch, sending the large man streaking through the air, Caulifla in hot pursuit.

"They're really something else, huh?" He said softly, the expression on his face somewhere between amusement and a pained grimace.

"Aah." She agreed.

"I can't believe how far Caulifla's come." He observed. "It took me months of hard training to master super saiyan. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. And she made it look easy."

"It- it was for her." Kale murmured, watching intently as Caulifla righted herself after taking a series of blows and wiped a trail of blood off her chin, a grin on her face as she faced her partner.

"It was easy for you, too."

"I don't even remember what happened." She whispered. It made her feel sick to have gaps in her memory like that, to know that she'd hurt Caulifla. And it overwhelmed her to know what unshakeable confidence her boss had in her. Even despite that loss of control.

"No, I suppose you don't..." He sounded a little awkward at realising that this was an uncomfortable topic for her. "But I'm glad you were with us in the tournament. We didn't win but we wouldn't have lasted even half as long as we did if you hadn't been in our team."

She was surprised to hear the words, even if he was just saying them to make her feel better, he hadn't _needed _to say them. Unsure how to respond she chose to watch the match instead and he took her cue to do the same.

They watched in silence for several minutes as the two continued, their blows powerful enough to be felt even at this distance.

"They really are alike…" Cabba chuckled awkwardly beside her.

They were. He was right.

No matter what her friend said or how much she tried to deny it, Kale knew that Caulifla liked Goku. She didn't think her friend was lying, just that she hadn't noticed or perhaps she was in denial. But Caulifla couldn't stay away from him. Couldn't keep her eyes off him.

And he wasn't much better. Kale didn't know him as well and maybe that was why he didn't seem as obvious to her, but she'd seen the looks Vegeta had shot him so many times now.

Kale didn't really know what to make of it. It wasn't that she had a problem with it but, well, it was complicated. She certainly didn't want her friend to be lonely, and she didn't want her not to have a relationship with someone. But, if she was entirely honest with herself, the problem was that it wasn't _her _that her friend's eyes were so fixated on. It wasn't her that Caulifla dreamed about.

It was him.

And he was perfect for Caulifla in so many ways.

She hated feeling so conflicted. Just yesterday she'd been encouraging Caulifla to consider the possibility that she might like the man. Today she just felt jealous and forgotten.

"You seem to be finding the morning training easier?" Cabba said, the statement clearly a question and a way of changing the subject, of drawing her out of her reverie.

"Un." She nodded, forcing herself to think about her training, glad of a reason to change the direction of her thoughts. "It's tough but I'm getting used to it."

"You're doing really well. This training's the hardest I've ever done. Even the endurance training in the defence force is nothing compared to this, and that's designed to be at the limit of what most people can do to weed out anyone who's not suitable.

"Whis is a tough Master." He continued. "But I'm not going to stop and give up: I'm never going to be helpless like that again." She turned to him as his voice grew hard at the memory. "We failed everyone at the tournament. I won't let that happen again."

* * *

**GOKU**

The explosion of ki was loud to Goku's senses. Loud enough to wake him. Vegeta and Cabba, the other two occupants of the room, didn't seem to have noticed however.

Reaching out with his senses he found the source of the disturbance and was surprised to feel another immense build up of energy.

Wasting no time, Goku climbed out of bed and dressed before heading out into the hallway and to the nearest door. He had no idea what Caulifla was trying to do but her failure certainly wasn't stopping her trying again.

Despite the perpetual daylight, the flash of light was bright and he followed it to find the young woman, face contorted with concentration and sweat running down her temples and torso as she panted.

"What do you want?" She didn't look impressed to find him landing beside her.

"I just noticed you training." He answered, happily.

"And what do you _want_?" Caulifla asked again.

"Well, since I was awake I thought I'd see if you want a training partner."

"I don't," came the curt response. "Now leave me alone." She put her hands on her hips and waited for him to leave.

He was here now, though, and she wasn't half as prickly as Vegeta, so he tried again.

"Sure?" He fell into his fighting pose, grinning at her in challenge. Still she didn't give in. "You know we have fun training together." A flash of acknowledgement passed across her face but she didn't relent.

"I'm not interested in training right now, Old Man."

"What are you doing out here this late if you're not training?" He asked, scratching his head and standing up straight again.

She sighed in resignation, realising she wasn't getting rid of him any time soon. "I _am_ training. But not sparring."

"What technique are you working on?" He asked, pushing for more now that he had her talking.

She glared at him and he chuckled a little. He didn't press her as she looked off to the side in thought, instead looking her over to try and work out what she'd been doing. She was still breathing harder than usual, though not like she had been when he'd first arrived, and her hands were still on her hips. Her skin shone with sweat and he became very aware of how damp her top was.

Quickly looking away he was surprised when she spoke to him. Was even more surprised by what she said.

"Show me that technique again." She turned her head back towards him once more as she voiced the order. And an order it was. "The one you used both times you knocked us out of the ring." She elaborated when he didn't immediately answer.

Reeling his thoughts back in and chastising himself for getting distracted by her face, he jumped into action. "The kamehameha? Sure thing!"

He fell into position, watching her as she observed him with those sharp eyes of hers, as she noted the exact position of his hands and how he braced himself in preparation for the strength of the blast he was about to create.

He kept the charge small and made sure to create it step by step, though he didn't insult her by explaining it or slowing down too much. He'd seen just how perceptive she was.

Aiming out across the lake so as not to hit anything, he launched the kamehameha, maintaining it for just a moment before releasing it and allowing it to dissipate.

She watched him straighten and he knew she was paying as much attention to his ki as she was his movements, so he didn't immediately suppress it, instead letting her sense as his energy returned to its normal state.

He did the same when she dropped into an identical stance as the one he'd just held, closely monitoring the shift in her ki.

She drew back her hands and energy started to gather in them, not yet visible, but there.

"Kame-" a sparkling red orb began to form, a colour so different to any other he'd ever seen. Yes, he'd seen attacks that colour but that was ki that had been altered specifically for those attacks. This was _her_ ki.

"Hame-" The orb grew, larger than the one he'd just demonstrated, but still under control. Aside from that small difference, she was copying him perfectly and he could feel how good her control was.

"**Ha!**" She twisted, thrusting her hands forward, launching the blast in the same direction he had.

He whistled in appreciation. She'd executed it perfectly. "Wow, Caulifla! That was great!"

She turned to him and he was surprised to see her looking angry. "Cut it out. Don't mock me."

"What?"

"Don't talk down to me!"

"I wasn't!" He protested, leaning back a little as she leaned in towards him. Even small as she was, she was intimidating!

"Oh yeah?!" She squinted at him, close enough that he could feel the heat of her. "Would you talk to Vegeta like that?"

"Huh? Yeah. Of course." He saw her blink in shock.

"Seriously?" She straightened again, frowning.

"Uh, yeah." Why was that such a shock for her.

She watched him skeptically for a moment then rolled her eyes and sighed. "Of course you would…" Caulifla groaned, her voice full of resigned exasperation. "No wonder that man's so grumpy all the time."

"What? Why?" What did she mean? That was just how Vegeta was.

"You can't talk to people like that." Her voice was back to normal, melodic with only the slightest hint of exasperation remaining.

"Why not? You talk to Kale like that."

"That's different. She's my imotō-bun."

"Why is that different?" He asked, confused.

"It's different because it's my place to teach her. Part of that is telling her what she does right or wrong. Just like Whis does with all of us, or Vegeta with Cabba. If I ask you to teach me something then you can talk to me like that. Otherwise don't." She finished, looking him in the eyes to check he understood.

It did make some sense, he supposed, but he'd never looked at things like that. "I'll try…" he conceded, "I'll probably mess up but I'll try."

The small woman held his gaze for a moment longer, then said, "Let me do that a couple more times and then you'll get your sparring partner."

She turned from him before he could respond, so he settled on watching her fall into position and shoot shot after shot across the lake.

And when she shot him a grin over her shoulder he didn't say anything, just grinned back at her and fell in beside her, launching his own kamehameha in tandem with hers.

* * *

**CABBA**

If someone had told him two years ago that he would one day be fighting in inter-universal tournaments, against saiyans with blue or pink or blond hair; or training on the planet of another universe's God of Destruction, under the tutelage of a blue skinned, white haired, androgynous angel; that he'd call a savage Prince 'shishō' or a crime lord (was that correct? Or should it be crime lady?) friend…

Well, there was a high chance that, circumstances permitting, he'd have politely escorted them back to his local Defence office and recommended them for psychiatric help. Or at least have quietly thought they were a few bananas short of a full bunch.

It was strange how life could turn all your expectations upside down.

He blocked another blow at the last instant, the bones in his forearm protesting the rough treatment, and countered with his own punch.

The sparks of electricity that flashed and danced around him were a mirror image of the ones sparking around Vegeta shishō, but even the tremendous speed of super saiyan two wasn't enough to hit his more experienced senpai who dodged expertly. Neither the punch, nor the following kicks and blasts hit home, though Vegeta's knee had no problems finding Cabba's chin. The blow was enough to make his skull ring and he tasted blood, but he didn't allow himself to flinch for even a moment and, as his punch passed within a hair's-breadth of his shishō's cheek, the older man smirked in satisfaction.

Vegeta had berated him mercilessly the day before for reacting to a blow and leaving himself open. It wasn't that he expected kindness or patience from his master, but the beating and following tongue lashing he'd received for his mistake had been memorable to say the least, and had succeeded in driving the lesson home.

A small part of him worried that showing his shishō just how fast he'd learned that lesson, would only serve to encourage more such treatment, but a larger part of him realised that it was that treatment that had pushed him so far and that the respectful, disciplined approach of his former instructors had never yielded such fast results.

Steeling himself, he launched into another series of attacks, only dropping back to fire a series of volleys at the Prince. Two of his blasts hit home but the regal man emerged from the blast as unfazed as he was unharmed.

When Whis called a halt to their sparring a couple of minutes later, Cabba bowed respectfully to his mentor before seating himself in front of a tree to watch the next round: Goku and Kale.

He glanced to the side, checking that he hadn't sat himself too close to Caulifla san. His former taichō's younger sister shared almost no similarities with her brother. Where Renso was a kind and solemn man who commanded respect and treated you in kind, his sister was brash, impatient and aggressive. She had a dominant streak a mile wide and had no compunction about telling anyone what she thought of them.

And she'd made it very clear that entering into her space uninvited would earn him nothing but misery.

Not that that applied to Kale. Or, apparently, Goku san.

The affable man had seemingly charmed her thoroughly, though unintentionally, and despite him clearly irritating her on occasion, she seemed willing to treat him with the same doting patience he'd thought she only reserved for Kale. Her temper would flare and then dissipate just as fast and Goku, being utterly oblivious would just carry on as if he wasn't face to face with one of the scariest women Cabba had ever met. The two of them often sat next to each other at meal times and it wasn't uncommon to find them chatting amiably in their free time: a rarity for anyone else.

Now that he thought about it, Goku was good at that. He did it with almost everyone.

To his surprise, he found Caulifla reading a book. He couldn't read the title and had no idea where she had gotten it from, but she was already a substantial way through it and was seemingly engrossed.

In recent days - weeks, perhaps - even he hadn't failed to notice how closely she observed Goku san, never mind how she usually watched anyone sparring with Kale like a hawk, ready to tear them a new one if she thought they'd been unnecessarily rough with her protégé.

As he watched her, he saw her glance up as Goku let out a grunt. Her eyes found him instantly and she watched for a minute or so before quickly looking back down, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks and a frown marring her features.

It was the last thing Cabba had expected from her.

He watched her every now and then as the fight continued, trying his best to be subtle. It happened not just once or twice, but over and over, and had him re-analysing their interactions over the last couple of weeks.

Caulifla, it seemed, liked the large saiyan far more than she wanted to admit to.

* * *

AN: The big question is this: what do you want Caulifla and Kale's relationship to have been in the past and what do you want it to be in the future? I'm really, really tempted to make this a poly fic because I don't think poly relationships get the recognition they deserve. But like I said before: I wrote this for me but I'm sharing it for you readers. Most of the fic is already written and only needs tweaking one way or another, so let me know!


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter spans about 2 weeks.

* * *

_Chapter 10_

**CABBA**

Cabba found himself letting out a silent sigh of relief when he found himself being paired with Goku once again for their morning chores, just three days after the first time, then struggling to swallow down the burst of shame at that relief.

It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for Vegeta shishō's training, but, well - it was nice to have a break every now and then.

Cabba didn't think he'd do any better with meditation this time around, but Goku's laid-back attitude made for a pleasant reprieve from the cutting intensity that was Vegeta shishō.

As they worked their way through the morning's tasks, Cabba found himself enjoying the easy competitivity that Goku applied to each and every chore. It made the time pass faster and the only outcome of losing was that Goku would chuckle over it and perhaps throw some light teasing his way or, the one time that Cabba finished first, an equally irritated and impressed exclamation that "Gee, I can't believe you finished so quick! I need to up my game next time!"

And it was fun chatting with Goku, when the task allowed it. The affable man was neither chatty, nor reticent. He enjoyed conversation but didn't need it to be content.

They spoke primarily of Goku's family, which in Goku's eye at least, extended to Vegeta's family too. Goku was hugely proud of his oldest son and his work, though he admitted, when Cabba asked what exactly Gohan's area of expertise was, that he actually had no idea. Whatever science Gohan focused on, it went right over Goku's head. And that was enough, along with his son's passion for his work, that Goku was proud of his accomplishments.

Talk of his younger son, whom Cabba barely knew at all, centered more around the shenanigans he and Vegeta's son got up to on what sounded like a daily basis. Goten and Trunks were apparently responsible for an impressive number of damage claims, which apparently Vegeta's wife had seemingly set a considerable annual budget for, and it was global knowledge by now that any and all damage caused by a lilac haired boy and a boy with unusually spiky hair would be paid for - no questions asked - by the Capsule Corporation.

When talk eventually moved on to the two youngest saiyans, Goku bashfully admitted that he hadn't really spent as much time with them as he probably should have. Despite that, it was clear to Cabba how much Goku cared for the two girls.

By comparison, Cabba felt like he had little to tell. As an only child of a middle class family, his childhood wasn't anything special - happy: yes, remarkable: no. His adult life was similarly mundane: a short list of failed relationships wasn't anything unusual in the military. He didn't really feel like either would interest Goku all that much, so instead he kept the conversation - what little there was of it - on events since the tournament.

In what seemed like no time they were back in the tree, the branch they'd chosen as wide as most streets, and the bark lumpy but not rough. This time Cabba took more care in choosing a spot, no longer concerned that he'd be admonished for taking too long or being "too soft".

* * *

**KALE **

Kale lounged on the grass outside, enjoying her time off by finally being alone. They'd been here a month now, and Whis had given them the whole day to do whatever they liked.

She'd enjoyed breakfast with the others, but when Goku had started talking about sparring with Vegeta, she'd quickly decided to make an exit and enjoying some time away from the others. No chance of being dragged into even more training that way.

She'd been enjoying the quiet; letting her mind wander. It was an old memory that was playing in her mind now. An old regret.

She was in the kitchen of the small flat where Caulifla had lived years ago, dinner cooking on the hob, Caulifla dancing a bit to the music on her single headphone as she cooked.

They'd been chatting about things but Kale had let the conversation slide as her girlfriend had concentrated on cooking. It had been a bad day and Kale was caught up in her own thoughts, absentmindedly watching Caulifla move.

Well, in hindsight she'd been more focused on her thoughts than the young woman, because she'd been startled out of her reverie by the touch of gentle fingers on her cheek and the soft sound of Caulifla's melodic voice.

"Are you getting lost again?" she asked. _Lost in her thoughts, her worries_. Neither of them needed to say the words, they both knew.

Kale nodded, words getting swept away by her racing, jumbled thoughts before they could reach her mouth.

"Today was tough, wasn't it?" Not for Caulifla, Kale knew, but for her.

Again the words didn't reach her mouth, but Caulifla knew.

"Here." Caulifla pulled the spare headphone from where it has been tucked into her top and slid it into Kale's ear, the move smooth and confident. The music was loud and fast paced but Kale didn't recognise the song nor the artist.

She looked up as Caulifla took hold of her hands. "Dance with me."

Kale felt her eyes widen in horrified embarrassment but in front of her Caulifla started to move, hips swaying smoothly, arms moving to the beat.

Caulifla wasn't a dancer by any stretch, but she had a sinuous way of moving that had caught Kale's attention the first time they'd bumped into each other in a nightclub. They'd barely known each other back then, despite being in the same gang, but the lithe grace with which the older girl had moved had stayed with her.

At first she hadn't understood her attraction, had brushed it off and ignored it, even as she'd gone out weekend after weekend hoping to bump into her new friend. But when Caulifla had interrupted a guy that was hassling Kale, moving in and kissing her in a smooth move as if they'd done it a hundred times before, Kale had suddenly felt the understanding hit her like a brick.

"He's gone." She'd managed to gasp out finally, the guy having moved away with a scoff moments before.

"I know." Caulifla had only stopped long enough for the curt response before kissing her again.

"That means you can stop." Kale had said, pulling away a fraction.

"He was just an excuse," Caulifla had said against her lips, her words almost drowned out by the music, "I've wanted to do this for weeks…"

Kale had remembered it all so clearly as her girlfriend had danced against her in that tiny kitchen, hips grinding against hers in a way that had her stomach tensing. The memories had become intertwined so thoroughly…

They kissed as one song came to an end and the next began, full of heat and desire, but were interrupted by the rattling of a pot lid as it began to boil over.

A moment later the music was gone as Caulifla tucked the headphone back into her top and went back to preparing dinner.

The memory jumped to later that night, clothes falling to the floor as their hands and lips moved frantically across each other's bodies.

"Tell me what you want." Caulifla's voice had been fresh out of her dreams but, though images filled her mind, the words wouldn't come.

"You!" it was true but it wasn't what either of them wanted her to say. Even so she'd had to force the word out as a profound embarrassment bordering on shame swept over her.

"That's a good start." Caulifla kissed down her bare sternum, going to her knees and slowly sliding down Kale's lace-topped thong. "Tell me," she instructed again, "it was _so _good last time."

It had been. In the months they'd been together Kale had discovered just how good sex could be, but now Kale found herself cringing at the prospect of laying herself so bare. It was one thing to have sex. It was another thing all together to ask for things: to admit her fantasies.

She'd tried and tried to push through and say the words, but they hadn't come. Instead tears had eventually welled in her eyes at the frustration and the conflicted jumble of emotions inside her.

But now, in the diffuse light of Beerus's planet, Kale pushed away the memory and let her mind play out how she wished the night had gone instead. I'm her fantasies she didn't have to be shy or unsure and her anxiety didn't choke off her words or paralyse her.

She'd wanted to be tangled up in bed with Caulifla, the cold winter air forgotten as their hands and mouths roamed, fingers touching the most intimate places in slow, languorous caresses.

In her fantasy she pulled Caulifla back up from the floor, the two of them stumbling back against the bed until Caulifla ended up straddling her lap, Kale kissing her deeply.

She pulled her lips away just enough to trail kisses along her girlfriend's jaw until she licked up the outer edge of her ear, one hand sliding up to cup the soft mound of a breast, the other grasping that slim hip.

But Caulifla was never one to sit back and let something happen, even when she'd asked Kale what she wanted, so Kale wasn't the least bit surprised by the open mouthed bite to the base of her neck and didn't even try to stifle the moan it drew from her.

They fell back into the softness of the duvet as their lips found each other again, hands roaming eagerly.

Caulifla was so small and so thin but she was soft and curvy in all the right places. And the softer they were, the more Kale wanted to taste them. She wanted to take her time, drawing out those pleasured cries that she loved so much.

So she did.

She didn't want to be on top - didn't need to be, she just pulled her lips away and urged Caulifla further up her body, capturing first one delicious nipple in her mouth, then the other.

She still didn't know if she liked girls or if she just liked Caulifla, but she _loved _the feel of Caulifla's body on her lips, her tongue.

Kale took her time indulging in those beautiful breasts, kissing along the sensitive underside, listening to Caulifla's breath hitch.

She tried to ignore the feel of Caulifla's hand stroking up her thigh, tried and failed. It simply felt too good to ignore.

Kale groaned onto her lover's ribcage, at the caress, but pulled Caulifla's hand away, then shimmied further down the bed, grateful that Caulifla didn't resist. Kale had been in charge before, but that had been telling Caulifla what to do. This was utterly different.

The sound of Caulifla's breath hitching in a gasp at the first sliding caress of Kale's tongue did all sorts of wonderful things to Kale. Being at the receiving end of this kind of treatment was bliss, but being the one causing such intense pleasure… it was a thrill all its own.

"Let me-" Caulifla gasped, "Let me turn around!"

Kale considered stopping her, but she really wasn't good at denying Caulifla anything, and moments later it was her turn to moan.

It was wonderful. Indulgent and filthy and hot and wonderful. Her body was-

"Hey Kale! Whatcha doin'?"

Kale was startled out of her thoughts at her friend's voice - the same voice she'd just been fantasising about, the same body - and opened her eyes to find Caulifla beside her.

"Anesan!" She could feel a furious blush rising in her cheeks and prayed that Caulifla wouldn't ask.

"Have you been out here long?" Caulifla asked, sitting down beside her, "I didn't know where you were."

"A- a-" dammit, why was she stuttering? "A while." No wonder she was stuck with nothing more than fantasies if she had to struggle like that just for two words!

"Did I interrupt some deep thoughts?" Caulifla's voice was relaxed as she lay back on the grass, and Kale hesitated for just a moment before rolling onto her front and relaxing again, settling down beside her friend.

Kale shook her head softly. She didn't want to talk about it, let alone with Caulifla, and thankfully her boss didn't seem interested in pressing the issue.

"Where did you go?" Kale asked instead. She'd lost track of Caulifla after they'd made their escape from breakfast. "I never saw you come back from the showers…"

"Uh. Yeah…" Caulifla grinned sheepishly, "I decided I had time for a bath, and then I kinda lost track of time…"

"Oh." What was she supposed to say to that? Maybe it was just her filthy thoughts right now, but she could only think of one way to lose that many hours in the bath.

"But I finished the book!" Caulifla cheered.

"You- the _whole _book?" Kale stammered.

"Yeah… I really lost track of time! But wasn't the ending amazing?"

Eagerly nodding her agreement, Kale let herself be drawn into the conversation and losing herself in it.

Regardless of anything else, Caulifla was her best friend and there was no one she'd rather spend her time with.

* * *

**CAULIFLA**

Damn it all!

She'd come here to train, not to develop some stupid school-girl crush!

She was a grown woman and she should be able to act as such, not moon over some hot guy.

The problem wasn't that she liked him, it was the fact that she was increasingly turning into a mindless fool around him! She became so absorbed in watching him that she didn't even notice when people were talking to her and had managed to pour her water over herself not once, but on two separate occasions. And she simply couldn't stay away from him. She was near him every chance she got and touching him, even just fleetingly, made her skin tingle.

Just what had happened to her self control?

He liked her too, she wasn't so blind that she couldn't see that, but it really wasn't helping.

Gods she wanted to scream.

She felt like she was burning up for him and with so little privacy here and as little free time, there was nothing she could do about it.

And there was no way she was going to him to scratch this itch. Not when her self control was in tatters. She wasn't some desperate, hormone driven girl with a crush.

Except, well, that was exactly what she was at the moment and it made her furious.

She'd lost track of how many times she'd dreamt about him, of how many hours she'd whiled away in his company, of how many times he'd gotten close enough while sparring that her body had reacted to his - and not as a fighter.

She was alone in her room right now, while Kale was in the shower, and she sat against the wall at the head of her bed, muttering angrily to herself.

It had been a long time since she'd last denied herself someone like this, and a large part of her didn't want to resist this attraction. If just his presence could do this to her, then what could his fingers do? His lips? His - She knocked her head against the wall, stopping that thought in its tracks. Only madness that way lay.

Even _if_ she decided to act on this crush, he'd really made no move towards her. She wasn't shy or incapable of making the first move but she'd only do so if someone made it clear they wanted her to.

She had no illusions about who she was and she knew she intimidated people: men and women alike. So she wouldn't make a move unless it was clear they - he - wanted her to do so.

And even the way he'd watched her lips that afternoon, such hunger in his eyes, it wasn't enough.

Caulifla wouldn't make the first move unless it was clear it was what he wanted, and certainly not while she had so little control over herself.

Frustrated, Caulifla buried her face in her hands and smothered a groan.

* * *

**GOKU **

Whis had just called an end to the day and theirs had been the final bout.

Caulifla was bent over, hands braced on her knees as she gasped for breath, water streaming off her from the time they'd spent fighting in the lake. Her top, so tight anyway, was absolutely plastered to her when she straightened, as were her baggy trousers.

He couldn't help but take it all in, hungrily. Only the cold wetness of his own clothes stopped him reacting to her. Especially when his eyes lingered on her hardened nipples, the lush round mounds of her breasts outlined so perfectly by the wet fabric.

Kami, he had to stop this.

She was watching him when he looked up, challenge and invitation gleaming in those big, black eyes, but he didn't know how to react, how to make that move. Instead he moved away and dropped to the ground beside Vegeta and fell into conversation with him, trying to ignore the sense of disappointment in himself.

He shouldn't be thinking of her like that.

Not only was he married (_I left. I'm not going back, _he reminded himself), they were here to train. Of course they were going to get physical, were going to end up with torn clothes or sweaty, sometimes wet. It wasn't right to look at her like that while they were training. It wasn't right how much of his time he spent imagining her naked, sweating and wet - in a completely different situation.

Caulifla had been clear about the line between student and teacher, as opposed to training partners. This was no different. They were training partners and it shouldn't matter that she was a woman. That she was hard and soft in all the right places. That she moved like a viper or that her battle joy sang to every fibre in his body.

It shouldn't matter when he'd been utterly oblivious to his wife his whole life.

The harsh snap of Vegeta's response was a welcome burst of normalcy and, despite how jarring most found it, it helped centre Goku again.

Behind him, he could hear the two women talking, but he kept his attention on Vegeta, then Beerus, as the God started complaining about being hungry.

He listened as Whis reassured Beerus that dinner was already planned and wouldn't take long, and he had to admit that he was looking forward to it, whatever it was.

They were halfway back to the living room when Caulifla's voice cut across his thoughts. "Don't think you won, Old Man," she said as she came up beside him.

"I didn't say anything!" He protested quickly.

"You were thinking it!"

"No! No, I wasn't!" She was scary sometimes and he didn't really want to get on her wrong side so soon before dinner. Strange as it was, he enjoyed arguing with her over trivial things, but he didn't want to fight over dinner again: that just ended up too chaotic and he'd rather eat.

She glared at him sharply, holding his gaze in challenge.

Faster than he could react, she poked him in the side. Hard.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing his abused side. "What was that for?"

"You're just telling me what I want to hear to shut me up!" She accused angrily, prodding him again.

"Well- uh…" What was he supposed to say to that? "Kind of-" He cut off as she punched him in the side of the head.

It wasn't overly painful and it was nothing compared to the punches she'd delivered during their training, but he let the impact knock him off course slightly before flying back beside her and poking her in the side in return.

"I just want to eat my dinner," he explained, "you know, instead of wearing half of it…" He cracked a grin at the memory and saw her scowl in response, an expression he'd come to learn meant she was fighting back a smile of her own.

"Where's the fun in that?" She asked more quietly, her temper seemingly having cooled off a little.

He grinned at her. It _had _been fun, even if he'd rather have eaten the food. "Leave the food out of it and we can spar later?" He asked.

"Deal." She held out a fist to him and did the same, letting her bump their fists together.

* * *

**KALE**

Out of all of them here on Beerus' planet, Kale enjoyed sparring with Goku the most.

It had been a strange realisation when it had come to her but it was true.

When she was sparring with him, Caulifla didn't watch them. It had upset her at first, but since then she'd found a strange kind of freedom in it.

Caulifla was her best friend and her attentions were anything but stifling, but being free of any need to prove herself was liberating. And productive.

Not that that was her only reason for enjoying sparring with him.

"That's enough, you two." Whis said serenely from his usual spot. The angel had no need to raise his voice: everyone listened when he spoke.

Goku reigned in the punch he was aiming at her, but she hesitated: she wanted to continue. Out of everyone here, she had the most to learn, and she was determined to do all that she could to keep upm

"Ano… Whis san …" Everyone was looking at her now. "Can we carry on for a bit longer?" She shot a questioning glance at Goku and found that he'd already fallen back into his starting stance and was ready to continue.

"Hmm? Of course Kale san." Whis agreed, a polite smile on his face. "Just don't be too long or there won't be any food left." With that he turned and headed back towards the behemoth tree, Vegeta and Cabba falling into step beside him.

Caulifla lingered for a moment, clearly still in a bad mood but not wanting to simply leave her here. Her friend noticed Goku watching her, shot Kale a questioning look and, upon receiving confirmation that she wasn't needed, flew off in the same direction as the others.

"Ready?" The enormous saiyan looked eager and Kale found herself wanting to smile back, her nerves and discomfort at having drawn attention to herself being pushed down by everyone's easy acceptance of her request.

Instead, she punched him in the face.

That made her crack a smile.

They continued sparring for a while longer, trading kicks and blows until she landed a badly judged hit and felt her wrist crack, a bark of pain shooting up her arm in protest to the harsh treatment.

"Aiee!" Goku grabbed her to stop her momentum. "I heard that! Are you okay?"

She nodded in affirmation but her arm was already trembling from the pain.

She'd had worse but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Did you break it?"

"I think so…" She mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

He took her arm carefully, and gently inspected the joint. It was already swelling.

She flinched when he touched a particularly tender spot and he chuckled softly. "You'll want Whis to heal that, otherwise you won't be training at all for a while."

She nodded mutely. Biting back a wince as he released her hand.

"Come on, let's get you back."

She was about to fly off when the world shifted around her, his hand on her upper arm the only sensation for an instant, before the dining room came into focus.

Everyone was looking at her again and she felt like a fool. She'd been the one to ask to continue and she'd been the one who messed up.

"What did you do to my imouto-bun?" Caulifla challenged, leaping to her feet on the other side of the table and glaring daggers at the tall man, her half-eaten dinner forgotten.

"Sorry!" He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "It's nothing Whis can't fix!"

He put his hand on her shoulder and gently guided her forward. "Whis? Is there any chance you'd help her? I think I broke her wrist…" He sounded embarrassed but made an effort to be polite.

She was about to protest that it hadn't been his fault but he squeezed her shoulder gently and she kept her mouth shut, watching in silence as Goku cajoled Whis into giving in. Apparently the angel had no problem with cleaning off dirt and grime, or for healing broken bones that occurred during his own training, but begrudged being used so casually for more serious injuries, insisting that Goku should have been more skilled than that, and that they should both be more careful in future.

It seemed like forever until Whis finally capitulated and, with nothing more than a wave of his staff, Kale felt the pain vanish and was vaguely aware of a small shift in her wrist as the bones returned to their normal position.

Caulifla still looked pissed so, after bowing a thank you to the angel, Kale quickly rounded the table to the empty seat beside her friend and subtly shook her head at her. Her friend watched her carefully for a moment, unsure whether Kale was just covering for the alien man, but eventually sat back down and continued eating.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Caulifla asked as soon as they left the room after dinner.

"Nothing, Anesan… I just made a mistake."

Caulifla looked at her with suspicion.

"Really, I just twisted my wrist badly as I hit him," she reassured her friend. "It really wasn't his fault."

Caulifla didn't answer but looped her arm through Kale's and sighed. "Don't let him get away with hurting you, Kale," she warned gently.

Kale knew her friend was just fussing. "You don't really think he's like that, do you?" She didn't _think _her friend thought of him that way, _she _certainly didn't. He'd never been anything but kind to her and, though he was a little different with Caulifla, the worst she'd seen from him was an over eagerness to fight.

"I don't think so," Caulifla conceded, "but he's hard to read."

"Really?" Kale was surprised at the statement.

"Nobody can really be that simple, Kale." Caulifla opened the door to their room and let Kale enter first, then sat on the bed beside her.

"I know… He is a bit extreme, isn't he?" She mused thoughtfully, "But I think he actually is…"

"I dunno…" Caulifla flopped back onto the bed and Kale lay down beside her, facing her friend. "He just irritates me…"

Kale had to bite down on her response. She knew her anesan liked him and that made her both happy and sad. Watching her friend pretend so steadfastly that she wasn't interested in the man, for whatever reason, was pretty hilarious. But it hurt to know that she was looking at someone else like that. Not that Kale had ever made her feelings overly clear. But then… it wasn't like nothing had ever happened between them - they had _plenty _of history - and they _had _been fused. Caulifla knew everything about her feelings.

And just how messed up Kale still was.

* * *

**CAULIFLA**

Caulifla really doubted if there were many things better than a hot shower after a day's hard training.

What Whis was putting her and the others through each day was by far the most intense training she'd had in her life. By the end of the day there wasn't an inch of her that didn't hurt. Really, seriously hurt. And the hot water of the waterfall-like shower was a luxury she had no qualms about indulging in.

She ignored the sound of another shower starting up as she stretched her shoulders. It would have been a simple matter of reaching out with her senses to find out which of the guys it was but she didn't really care. Whoever it was hadn't said anything upon entering. None of them had bothered her in here so far and she didn't have anything to be ashamed of, should they see her, so she didn't give it any thought.

Picking up her shampoo she rubbed it through her hair and worked it until she had a good lather, taking her time to massage her scalp, despite her protesting shoulders.

As she rinsed out the suds she heard a hiss followed by a string of 'Ow!'s. She recognised that voice immediately.

She tried to ignore him but the quiet complaints kept coming.

"You alright over there?" She finally asked, somewhat resigned and irritated.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Vegeta just kicked me real good earlier." The cheerful reply echoed around the enormous chamber.

She knew exactly what had happened. Not long before finishing up for the day, Vegeta had kicked Goku in the shoulder. Hard. She'd seen as Goku had popped the dislocated joint back into place as if it was nothing. He hadn't really seemed affected by it at all at the time, but as dinner had progressed it had begun to swell and he'd had more and more problems using it.

He was saiyan and she doubted he'd have any lingering effects come morning, but she knew from personal experience how painful it was trying to wash your hair with an injured shoulder.

Caulifla continued showering, trying her best to ignore the large man muttering to himself in pain on the other side of the room. He was still mumbling as she turned off the water, minutes later.

'This is a bad idea,' she thought with a sigh as she turned in his direction and asked again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah… I'm just- ow!"

She _knew_ this was a stupid idea but still she said, "Sit down and close your eyes. And don't you dare peek!"

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

Was she really doing this? Whatever this connection between them was, they'd both noticed it but had ignored it as much as possible so far for the sake of training, and this was definitely crossing that invisible line.

Even trying, they'd both found it hard to keep their distance. How much harder would it be if she did this? But how could she not help?

She rounded the rocks that separated the two showering areas, rocks that Whis had conjured following their arrival, but that looked as if they'd always been a part of this beautiful, cave-like room.

She was almost surprised to find that the energetic Universe Seven saiyan had done as she'd asked. He'd seated himself on a small rock protruding from the ground, his back to her, and made no move to turn towards her though she knew he was fully aware of the her approach.

If anyone ever asked she'd fully deny it, but as she walked she drank in the sight of him. She'd seen him topless several times already, but the sight of his muscled back, gleaming wetly in the rippling light of the room was one she never wanted to forget.

Caulifla had seen enough men naked before that she'd thought were impressively built - she didn't have the patience for men with whom she'd have to hold back too much - but this man? He was in a different league altogether.

Every inch of him was muscled and toned, tanned by the sun to a beautiful golden colour. That colour was marred by the ugly red and purple of his swollen shoulder and she didn't fail to notice how he was cradling the offending limb in an attempt to save himself any more pain. But none of that detracted from the beauty of him. If anything it just highlighted the warrior he was.

Caulifla drew her eyes away from him to search out his shampoo, reaching for it after throwing another warning to him not to look.

Perhaps she hesitated longer than she should have as she stood behind him, shampoo in hand, hyper aware of how naked she was in that moment.

There would be no taking this back after she did it.

Goku showed no sign of impatience where he sat in front of her, staying as still as marble but for the steady rise and fall of his shoulders - until she touched his hair at least. Just for a moment, she felt him stiffen slightly, but then he relaxed again, leaning back the smallest fraction into her touch.

They both knew there was no taking this back.

She realised in that moment that she had a choice: get this over and done with as fast as possible and pretend it meant nothing, or to enjoy this moment for what it was and see what came of it.

She decided to take her time, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence, neither of them talking lest it broke them out of this short moment in time.

* * *

**GOKU**

Having his hair washed wasn't an entirely new experience to Goku but it had been a long time since it had happened last. In fact it had been while he was recovering from his first fight with Vegeta, all those years ago.

This was an utterly different experience and an entirely unexpected one, too.

He'd marveled at the feisty saiyan woman's tiny size so many times that he'd lost count, but he did so again now. Even sat down on this rock, he was barely shorter than her at all.

Her fingers, so slim but strong, slid across his scalp in firm, careful strokes and she took the time to tease out any tangles she found as she worked.

It was nothing like the efficient way Chichi had washed his hair while he'd been pretty much encased in plaster all those years ago.

He relaxed as she worked, tilting his head back a little to make it easier for her. He genuinely hadn't expected something like this from Caulifla. He'd seen her kindness towards Kale and had seen her chatting amiably with Vados when the angel had visited, but whenever the two of them were together, or at least when their attention was focused on each other, their competitive natures won out.

Not that that was a problem. He genuinely liked her and enjoyed her company, and he was _always _up for a fight. He couldn't explain why he sat himself next to her so often at meals, or why she did the same; nor why he found his eyes lingering on her long after he should have looked away. But not understanding the reasons didn't mean he could ignore that it was happening.

And neither could he ignore the thoughts that had popped unbidden into his head so many times. Images of her naked and sweating, of her on her hands and knees underneath him or her mouth parted in a groan as she straddled him.

He hurriedly pushed those thoughts away, even knowing that an image of her slick, wet skin, coated in that soap he'd smelled earlier, would plague him in the days to come. He didn't want to think of her like that, he had no right to.

Still, to be at the receiving end of such kindness from her felt good. He liked her wit and her straightforward nature. Even her temper: so quick to flare and yet equally quick to subside. She had a reasonable streak in her that he hadn't seen in many and it was refreshing to deal with someone so open with their emotions yet also relaxed.

Goku had to bite down on a shudder as she sighed behind him, her breath chilling the wet skin of his nape as her hands finished with his hair.

A few weeks ago he would have been surprised at the pang of disappointment he felt at realising she was done, but if he was being completely honest he wasn't surprised by his reactions to her any more.

But he _was_ surprised when instead of stopping, her hands slipped to his neck and shoulders and started kneading the muscles there.

Her fingers worked expertly: gentle and soothing on the muscles strained by his injury, strong and sure on those tight after training. He found himself fighting down his groans whenever she found a particularly tight knot and worked it loose.

They could have been there for ten minutes or an hour, Goku really couldn't say. The silence was complete but powerfully intimate, and it was without conscious thought that he finally took her hand in his. He wondered if maybe he'd made a mistake as he felt her freeze behind him. She stayed like that for a long moment before she moved and he thought she'd pull away. Instead he felt her other hand slide forward to grasp the wrist of the hand he still held in his, her arms now loosely around his neck.

Goku had followed her earlier instructions and hadn't looked as she'd crossed the large cave that housed the bath and showers. He'd expected her to have wrapped herself in a towel as he'd always known human women to do, but instead he felt her bare body press into his back, warm and soft despite the muscle.

It took every ounce of self control he had to calm his heart rate, to clamp down on that southward rush of blood. He wasn't entirely successful but hoped that his arm, still cradled in front of him, would hide the evidence of his reaction from her.

Settling fully against him she rested her head against his and sighed again.

"Thank you."

They were the first words either of them had spoken in what seemed like forever and as he breathed them he worried they might break whatever spell the two of them were under.

"Hn," an equally quiet breath as he felt her lips quirk. "You can pay me back some time…" Her voice was a soft murmur of sound.

"You'll get to Blue if you just keep training."

Another quirk of her lips, "I know. You can pay me back some other way."

Perhaps it was the smell of her or the slim softness of her pressed against his back, or perhaps it was the thoughts that kept popping into his head. Either way he was sure in that moment that she wasn't talking about some kind of training and that he'd have no reservations about tangling with her with more than just fists one day.

They fell back into silence, neither of them moving from their embrace until the quiet swish of the door sounded through the room some minutes later.

In a blink Caulifla was gone and Goku felt the cool air chill his back once more.

"Hey Kale," the greeting echoed off the walls, "I'm just leaving, I'll see you back in our room."

The words kicked Goku back into action. Vegeta would be wondering just where he was if he took too long and he still needed to finish showering.

* * *

AN: Thank you to those of you who are still reading, and a huge thank you to everyone who responded to my question last chapter! If you didn't: it's not too late!


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